Wertheimer In, Chiquet Ousted As Chanel CEO

DAILY EDITION 28 JANUARY 2016 1
Simply Poison
Iconix Brand Group adopts
a poison pill to see off the
likes of the U.K.’s Sports
Direct. PAGE 12
Fashion. Beauty. Business.
New Reality
Richard Chai will skip the
runway and highlight his
fall men’s collection in a
virtual reality
documentary. PAGE 3
Personal Penn
Irving Penn’s more
personal photos are to go
on show at the
Pace/MacGill Gallery in
Manhattan. PAGE 13
RETAIL
Wertheimer In,
Chiquet Ousted
As Chanel CEO
● Many industry insiders are
surprised by the luxury
brand’s decision to part ways
with the longtime executive.
BY LISA LOCKWOOD AND MILES SOCHA
PARIS — Alain Wertheimer, Chanel’s
chairman and co-owner, is to assume
management of the company following
the surprise ouster of Maureen Chiquet,
its global chief executive officer since
2007.
WWD.com was the first to report the
news Wednesday afternoon, the day
after Karl Lagerfeld paraded an eco-inspired couture collection that received
wide praise from the global fashion
press.
Chanel issued a short statement saying only that Chiquet would leave the
company this week “due to differences
of opinion about the strategic direction
of the company.”
Company officials and Chiquet
declined to comment beyond the brief
statement.
RETAIL
Nordstrom Lands
Second Location
Near N.Y. Flagship
FASHION
Photograph by Giovanni Giannoni
Snake
Charming
The spring couture ended on a dream. Taking inspiration
from Mariano Fortuny, who championed the belief
that fashion should free rather than constrict the body,
Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli
showed a stellar collection that referenced classic motifs
through the lens of early 20th-century dance. Here, a
velvet beauty, painted with gold to match the serpentine
headdress. For more on the couture shows, see pages 4 to 8.
● The Seattle-based
department store is taking
43,000 square feet at 3
Columbus Circle.
BY DAVID MOIN
NEW YORK — Nordstrom has found a
second location in Manhattan.
In addition to its West 57th Street
flagship currently under construction,
Nordstrom has decided to open a
second Manhattan location only a half
block away at 3 Columbus Circle.
The Seattle-based department store
will occupy three levels and 43,000
square feet at 3 Columbus Circle, serving as an expansion to the flagship.
Nordstrom decided to take the second
location because it felt it needed more
selling space than just the Manhattan
flagship, which is at 225 West 57th Street
between 7th Avenue and Broadway. The
285,000-square-foot, seven-level flagship is expected to open in 2018. Two
levels will be below ground.
No timing on the second store was
Sources describe Chiquet as a confident executive particularly keen on
leadership coaching and management
seminars.
It is understood Chanel’s owners may
have frowned on some of her outside
activities: seeking publicity for her
mentorship of New York-based jewelry
designer Eddie Borgo, for example. One
source in Europe suggested she had a
book project in the works, believed to
be about women in enterprise, which
also might have raised eyebrows on Rue
Cambon.
While most people contacted were
surprised by the news, others thought
that her tenure may have run its course.
A few sources said there may have been
some differences in corporate culture
and, strategically and culturally, there
were things she was pushing that the
company was not prepared to do. They
said she had a nice ride with the growth
of the Chinese luxury market and the
business overall was doing very well.
“I am stunned,” said Millard
“Mickey” Drexler, ceo of J. Crew, whom
CONTINUED ON PG.11
disclosed.
For the Columbus Circle site, which
is between 57th and 58th Streets and
Broadway and 8th Avenue, Nordstrom
signed a 23-year, 43,000-square-foot
lease with SL Green Realty Corp. and
The Moinian Group. The company had
at one time looked at the site for its first
Manhattan store, along with Hudson
Yards and the former Drake Hotel on
East 57th Street and Park Avenue.
“We are thrilled to be able to add
square footage to our footprint for our
future store in Manhattan. We believe
it will allow us to amplify our offering,
helping us put our best foot forward
in the best retail city in the world,”
said Pete Nordstrom, Nordstrom’s
copresident.
The retailer did not disclose what
it will sell at 3 Columbus Circle, but it
could specialize in a category such as
men’s wear or shoes, where the retailer
maintains strong reputations. It will
not be a Nordstrom Rack off-price unit,
according to one official.
It wouldn’t be the first time an
upscale retailer decided to operate
an annex in close proximity to a main
store. Bergdorf Goodman, for example,
operates its women’s flagship on the
west side of Fifth Avenue between 57th
and 58th Streets, and a smaller men’s
store on the opposite side of Fifth Avenue. In addition, Saks Fifth Avenue has
decided to open more specialized units,
CONTINUED ON PG.10
3
28 JANUARY 2016
MEN’S
Richard Chai
To Produce
Virtual Reality
Documentary
Richard
Chai
● The film will be released
in July, but teaser clips will
be offered beginning next
month.
BY JEAN E. PALMIERI
NEW YORK — Add Richard Chai to the
list of designers who are forging their
own fashion path — and it’s not on the
runway.
To show his fall men’s wear collection, Chai is teaming with videographer
Ryan Pallotta and director Ridley Scott
to create a virtual reality documentary.
The musical score for the film will be
written by Joe Jonas.
“I’ve historically shown [on the
runway] since I started women’s wear in
2004 and men’s in 2009,” the designer
told WWD. “But going through the process this time, I wanted to do something
different and new.”
He said he had initially expected to
show during New York Fashion Week:
Men’s, but changed his mind. “I love
doing shows and we showed men’s last
season during the inaugural event and
it was wildly successful,” he said. “But
this is a different kind of storytelling.”
He said the film will be “more
immersive for consumers and fans of
the brand and will put them in a more
inclusive context.” With the onslaught
of social media and live-streaming,
“anyone can be part of the show,” he
said, but this takes it to the next step.
Virtual reality technology provides a
360-degree view that literally makes the
viewer feel as if they’re part of the film,
said Chai.
Admitting that he hasn’t quite grasped
the entirety of the concept himself, Chai
has the utmost respect for Pallotta and
Scott, who are at the “forefront” of this
new technology.
The film will feature only the designer’s men’s wear and offer a “really
controlled Richard Chai environment,”
one that is “very different than sitting
at a show.” All three men are longtime
friends as well as “faces of the brand,”
he said, so they are well qualified to
translate his vision to film.
The film will be released around July,
but teaser clips will be offered starting
in February. There is also an e-commerce site that will be launched in July
when the film makes its debut, he said.
“It’s new and it’s nerve-wracking,”
Chai said, “but I’m throwing myself into
it.”
At this point, Chai said, he isn’t sure
if he will return to the runway in the
future. “I’m curious to see how different this experience will be and if it’s a
one-off.”
But with the seismic shifts that are
starting to shape the fashion industry,
Chai thinks new expressions of creativity such as this could frame the future.
“It is an interesting time,” he said,
pointing to other designers who are
eschewing industry runway shows,
notably Rebecca Minkoff, who will have
a consumer-facing event in February.
Proenza Schouler said they would not
release any pre-fall imagery or sanction
outside photography and short-lead
reviews of their collection until the
collection hits stores around April.
Thakoon Panichgul plans to turn into a
show-now, see-now, buy-now, wear-now
brand.
“I’m seeing my peers in women’s
doing more buy-now, wear-now, but
it’s not happening in men’s at all,”
Chai said, noting that he will not stage
a women’s show this season either. “I
showed men’s only last season,” he said.
Chai said his collection will be shown
to retailers now, during the traditional
men’s market season, and select editors
will also be invited in to see the line.
“That keeps it more controlled,”
he said.
TOP 5
TRENDING
ON WWD.COM
They Are
Wearing: Paris
Couture Spring,
2016
● WWD went off the runways
and onto the streets and
sidewalks for the best looks
from Paris Couture Week.
●Elie Saab Couture
Spring, 2016
● Jean Paul Gaultier
Spring, 2016 Couture
●Maison Margiela Couture
Spring, 2016
● Chanel Couture
Spring, 2016
RETAIL
Etsy to Open Macy’s Shop
Chai photograph by David X Prutting/BFA.com/REX/Shutterstock; They Are Wearing by Kuba Dabrowski
● The Millennial-focused
shopping area will be located
in the basement of the
retailer’s Herald Square store.
BY RACHEL STRUGATZ
Etsy is heading to Herald Square.
The online marketplace, which specializes in homemade items and crafts,
on Thursday will open The Etsy Shop in
One Below, the Millennial-focused area
located in the basement of Macy’s Herald
Square flagship.
The offering will include 57 products in
the jewelry, stationery and housewares
categories. The goods are designed by
Etsy sellers such as Debbie Lee of Penelope’s Press, Jennifer Benza of Yellow Heart
Art and Aimée and Sara Schiwal of Hook
& Matter, and include a series of Macy’s
exclusive items from Soledad Proano of
Sol del Sur, Naomi Singer of Modern Mud
and Meera Patel of Meera Lee Patel. The
theme of the shop is “New York,” with
seven of the eight participating sellers
hailing from New York (save for Lee who
is from Chicago).
Dana Mauriello, director of seller
category growth at Etsy, said Macy’s is
the largest retailer the marketplace has
linked up with so far. The site logged
its first in-store partnership with West
Elm in 2011 and has since worked with
Whole Foods, Ann Inc.’s Lou & Gray and
Nordstrom.
Etsy collaborates with thousands of
smaller retailers around the country
(and a few international stores) and is
expanding into new Whole Foods doors
every day. Etsy Wholesale has products
in nearly 11,000 retailers. While a physical presence can be a powerful tool to
build branding and awareness, Mauriello
said Etsy’s primary goal is to support and
grow its sellers’ businesses.
The shop’s theme is set to be refreshed
every two months and the two are considering whether or not to make The Etsy
Shop a permanent fixture.
The shop is in keeping with Macy’s
desire to look at new ways to use its
space to court consumers.
Singer, Modern Mud’s founder,
designed five pieces for the shop, including a $42 Modern Mud ring dish that says
“I love New York” in gold leaf on white
ceramic. A “Wish You Were Here” card
with a watercolor image of the city’s skyline splashed across it retails for $4.50.
The goods in the shop will be presented with a card that carries the image
of the seller and some background
information to better connect consumer
with creator.
“The design team at Etsy, in collaboration with Macy’s, worked hard to bring
Etsy’s brand into the space as well. We
actually sourced all of the risers and
tabletop fixtures from Etsy sellers,”
Mauriello said of the 28 different sellers
who provided the fixtures for the shop’s
display.
Etsy was founded 11 years ago and went
public in April. The marketplace boasts a
total of 36 million items for sale from 1.5
million active sellers and has 22.6 million
active buyers. The marketplace’s sales
carried a gross merchandise volume of
$1.93 billion in 2014.
Global Stock Tracker
As of close January 27, 2016
ADVANCERS
Lotte Shopping Co. Ltd.
+4.00%
Sears Holding Corp.
+3.32%
The Men’s Wearhouse Inc.
+2.70%
Coach Inc.
+2.58%
Richemont
+2.26%
DECLINERS
The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.
-8.57%
Esprit Holdings Ltd.
-5.40%
Elizabeth Arden Inc.
-5.33%
Li Ning Co. Ltd.
-5.00%
Yoox Net-a-porter Group
-4.87%
4
28 JANUARY 2016
The Reviews
Rebels come in various guises, and they don’t always
shout. Mariano Fortuny was a fashion rebel, purveyor
not only of undulating pleats but freedom of movement,
the latter associated as well with the great subversive
dancers he dressed — Ruth St. Denis, Isadora Duncan,
Martha Graham. In their creative ascent, Valentino’s
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have proven
themselves rebels of a sort, passionate champions of
romance in an age of cynicism.
If that’s not the stuff of a fashion connection, what
is? As the spring haute couture season wound down,
Chiuri and Piccioli presented another stellar collection,
this time inspired by Fortuny and his dancing muses.
They pooh-poohed convention, Piccioli noted back-
stage preshow, changing perceptions of dress, of
performance and ultimately, of women. He talked as
well about haute timelessness and celebration of the
imperfect. “In imperfection,” he said, “you can feel the
human touch that stimulates the other senses, not only
the eyes.”
Alas, couture calls for a near-perfect rendering of
the imperfect, and the designers delivered with clothes
as exquisitely crafted as they were conceptualized. The
Fortuny ruse was shown in pleating (done by hand and
therefore “imperfect”) and in loose, linear references to
the sartorial iconoclasm of the early 20th century. In a
nod to that era’s modernist theatricality with classical
allusions of its own, the models wore golden snake
headpieces and walked in bare, bejeweled feet through
CONTINUED ON PG.5
Paris
Couture
2016
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
VALENTINO
5
28 JANUARY 2016
VALENTINO
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
pale leaves and petals strewn across the floor. Some
gowns, particularly a white interlude, would have the
turned the godly heads of Mount Olympus. Others
drew from a broad palette of earthy neutrals to reds,
golds and greens, all muted ever so slightly, as if
by time.
While far from plain, the clothes weren’t overly decorated, as the designers made careful use of obvious
sparkle. More often, they created interest with fabric
treatments — an intricate patchwork of brocades,
hand-painted gold medallions on red velvet and giant
butterflies embroidered at the hem of a pristine white
gown.
Speaking of gowns — they ruled. This collection was
all about evening. And emotion. And beauty. Couture
doesn’t get better than that. — BRIDGET FOLEY
Paris
Couture
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
2016
6
28 JANUARY 2016
MAISON MARGIELA
The middle ground. The phrase implies compromise
and by extension, a dilution of conviction. Yet in today’s
reality-obsessed haute landscape, the middle may be
the new edge, a creative fault line on which the real and
surreal commingle in shameless sartorial glory.
At Maison Margiela, John Galliano has found his
own middle, one grounded in self-control rather than
compromise. For spring, fashion’s most notorious
romantic delivered what from a lesser creative talent
might have tanked: a powerful fusion of discipline and
ebullience. The results were bold and beautiful.
According to the show notes, Galliano’s spring
Artisanal collection was about “exalting the process
of haute couture through the construct of collage.” He
made the clever choice not to go crazy — at least not
all of the time. He started pure, with the blank slate of a
white cavalry twill mini trench, subtle in its idiosyncrasy
— a horizontal slash high across the back from which
the model’s long blonde extensions were pulled into
an offbeat ponytail. That trench begat another, in triple
georgette, with a high-drama trapeze of pleats in front.
As the show progressed, often a jacket looked like a
jacket (belted olive drab military jacket with embroidered gold metallic collar) and a dress, like a dress
(striped polo dress that morphed on one side into a
pretty silk print).
Yet inevitably, such definition morphed into more
random pilings as Galliano let loose with the collage
motif in grand swathes and poufs — lames, fil coupés,
brocades, jacquards — arranged with no apparent
reason other than beauty. He tore off one sleeve of
what would have been a practical winter coat and
tossed a giant spill of blue and gold jacquard down its
front. There were moments of abandon via proportion
(a moody-broody billowing balloon of a dress in mixed
textures of black silk) and shape (a flying buttress
explosion of deep blue and metallic gold jacquards
referred to on the line list as “a belted coat dress”).
Moments of exquisite indulgence came in an embroidered gold dress tacked onto a laser-cut calfskin
cape, and a complicated compilation of metallic
jacquard and taffeta with a longhaired fur skirt. So did
a mannish oversize black jacket attached (or was it?)
to a rustling pink and orange evening gown slung over
one arm and worn in back, like a train. A meeting in the
middle, with maximum impact. — BRIDGET FOLEY
Paris
Couture
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
2016
7
28 JANUARY 2016
Jean Paul Gaultier
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
Jean Paul Gaultier’s fondness for themes has at
times eclipsed his creations. His spring couture show, a
celebration of the legendary Paris nightclub Le Palace,
could well have been one of those occasions, but
happily, it didn’t happen. The clothes were too good to
be upstaged.
A blend of loungewear, Eighties tailoring, flashes of
metallic shine and bold color, the collection evoked a
heady party atmosphere, inspired by the late Edwige
Belmore, the androgynous beauty known as the Queen
of Punk. Belmore’s gang, including Farida Khelfa and
Eva Ionesco, were guests at the display.
With 67 looks, it was a blockbuster affair, yet Gaultier
maintained a focused approach, honing in on boudoir
elements such as variations on the pajama — including
the opener, a gorgeous jumpsuit with stripes entirely
made of bugle beads — as well as silk robes, bra tops,
corset belts, and lacy slipdresses.
He modernized the much-maligned ruffle, in one
instance by gathering excess fabric on the front of maroon pinstriped trouser suit to soften its mannish allure,
and gave bleached denim a couture feel by studding
the fabric in crystals or rendering it in silk and jacquard.
Models with curly manes and bright red lipstick — a
signature Khelfa look – sashayed down the catwalk
swigging Champagne and exchanging high fives,
though — sign of the times — only one puffed on a real
cigarette, with others using a prop.
There is something ironic about punk being served
up as entertainment for the one percent that make
up couture’s ultrawealthy clientele, but you couldn’t
accuse Gaultier of lacking authenticity. After all, he was
there at the time, catching concerts by Grace Jones,
Prince and Amanda Lear (another front-row guest.)
And although the models’ histrionics verged on
irritating, you can’t blame the designer for harking back
to better days. “That was a joyful time, and in less joyful
times, I think you need to continue having fun,” he said.
In this case, the feel-good feeling came more from the
beautifully executed outfits than it did from the staging.
— JOELLE DIDERICH
Viktor & Rolf
Paris
Couture
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni
2016
VIKTOR & ROLF
“It’s a Surrealist meeting of a white pique polo
shirt and Cubist portraits,” Viktor Horsting, one
half of design duo Viktor & Rolf, said during a
preview of the spring couture collection. “We call it
a performance of sculpture.”
It was a trenchant description, as said polo accrued 3-D eyes, lips, noses, hair and hands — all of
it in a white, technical piqué stiffened by multiple
means — until the models became ambulatory
totems, their heads and limbs partially or completely obscured.
The show winked to Horsting and Snoeren’s
penchant for accumulation: Remember Maggie
Rizer dressed in layers like a Russian doll until
she was practically consumed? And it continued
the conversation from last season when they
transformed paintings into forms of wearable art
that were snatched up by collectors, including the
Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art.
As clothes, these walking sculptures won’t
make it much further than a Björk or Lady Gaga
video — except for watered-down versions that will
be sold as a limited edition of 100 items on Moda
Operandi, with polos priced at 800 euros, and a
dress running up to 2,800 euros, or $870 to $3,050
at current exchange.
Yet they held your attention as individual
silhouettes morphed from tubular to square to
jutting, depending on the angle from which they
were viewed. The addition of bows and stiff ruffles
galore — courtesy of V&R, not the cubists — heightened the charm of this brisk show, soundtracked
with a Belgian girls’ choir belting Radiohead’s
“Creep.”
Horsting and Snoeren left behind ready-to-wear
to concentrate on fragrances and couture, which
they consider a “laboratory of expression.” The
capsule collection, slated for delivery in March,
bridges the gap — and also comes in commercially
friendly black. — MILES SOCHA
8
ELIE SAAB
28 JANUARY 2016
Elie Saab
Alexandre Vauthier
The Elie Saab woman is probably unaccustomed to walking on soil, and in flat explorer
boots, no less. So maybe it was apropos
that a few models in his spring couture
show tripped on the earthen runway.
Stumbles aside, this was an exceptional
outing for Saab. His Indian theme added an
exotic tinge to his sparkly gowns and cocktail dresses, swags of fabric over-the-shoulder telegraphing the gesture of a sari. It was
also unleashed a torrent of new elements,
including silky pants, spangled salwar-kameez ensembles, and breezy dusters.
Even if the boots were luxe, long tinsel
lapping at their tongues, Saab summoned
a transporting mood of turn-of-the-century
adventurers, rigging his young models with
leather map tubes and binocular cases.
They kicked up the dust in the steamy show
venue, with its backdrop of potted palms.
The show notes referenced Lilah Wingfield, an Anglo-Irish noblewoman who
recorded her travels to Delhi and Udaipur in
1911, when Victorian silhouettes were yielding to the Edwardian period. Saab’s opening
looks, with ruffled high necks, tight sleeves
and tiers of frothy lace, recall the photo of
Winfield in the show program, a small hawk
perched on her wrist.
They were lovely, and exemplified Saab’s
knack for veiling the body with dense, yet
delicate ornamentation. Forgetting short
interludes of mother-of-the-bride blues, this
show cast a spell with its pale shades of
blush, clotted cream and antique silver.
Rising model Lineisy Montero looked
ravishing in a simple, cap-sleeved gown in
that metallic shade, proving that Saab’s formula of flattering color, form-fitting shapes
and delicate spangling are a safe bet on a
red carpet, a gleaming parquet — or even a
patch of dirt.
— MILES SOCHA
ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER
Alexandre Vauthier really gets his customer, plying fashions with an urban sex appeal
that is germane to Parisian nightlife dressing. “It’s like a postcard of the Paris woman,
and this season, we really threw in all the
codes into the equation — the red lipstick,
the oversize tuxedo,” he said backstage.
There was a striking presence of red
but never on models’ lips. Instead, the color
exploded on a patent leather jumpsuit
boasting maxi zip pockets, while oversize
silhouettes skewed military through
Vauthier’s handsome take on vintage École
Polytechnique uniforms, which Parisian girls
like to pirate from their boyfriends’ wardrobes, he noted. They were beautifully cut,
and also came in a sleeveless version for
a sassier, more contemporary look, confirming Vauthier’s reputation as a precision
tailor.
This collection felt lighter than usual, and
less constraining. The dresses didn’t always
hug the body, seducing instead with a bare
shoulder, a leg-revealing cut or via the intricate construction, with Vauthier focusing on
sensual, hand-laid pleats done in collaboration with specialty atelier Lognon.
Ulyana
Sergeenko
— PAULINA SZMYDKE
The party was on at Ulyana Sergeenko’s
couture show — a costume party, held at
the Hotel de la Salle, which undoubtedly has
seen many of the kind in its colorful past.
Backstage, the designer’s mood board
painted an unlikely picture: 19th-century
Russian nobles versus Madonna’s “Like a
Virgin” video. Taking cues from the excessive end of the Russian Empire, known
for its opulent balls, carnivals and gypsy
entertainment on the one hand, and the last
decade of the Soviet Union, abound with
Eighties glitter and fun yet questionable
style choices, on the other, Sergeenko’s
collection spread lavish taste like wildfire.
Ruffles were a major theme, used on
gypsy skirts and boisterous coatdresses.
Some were made of hand-knitted lace (a
rare and labor-intensive technique these
days), in an upbeat palette of lemon, mint
and lavender. Yards of organza and taffeta
spilled into candy-colored princess dresses,
while an Eighties jumpsuit with turn-of-the
century puff-sleeves gathered silk like bees
gather honey.
Embellishments were top-shelf: one silk
overcoat featured medallions hand-painted
by a conservator of the Hermitage.
Despite the historical references, the
collection telegraphed an irreverent, youthful flair.
— P.S.
Paris
Couture
2016
Photographs by Giovanni Giannoni and Dominique Maître
ULYANA SERGEENKO
9
28 JANUARY 2016 Isabel Marant
ISABEL MARANT
By Isabel Marant’s own admission, pre-fall is a
commercial enterprise that shouldn’t require a big
press presentation to-do. The philosophy was not
to undersell the collection. The lineup was a very
relaxed wardrobe full of terrific clothes designed
with special attention to fabrics and comfort,
like cozy wool-blanket coats and wrap skirts and
bright, chunky alpaca cable-knit sweaters in bright
colors. There were also wrap skirts and fluid short
dresses she considers cocktail attire.
Marant uses pre-collections to experiment
with color; here using rust, golden yellow, green
and poppy red to energize her classic black-andwhites. Colorful dot and circle motifs inspired by
Regina Jimenez, a Spanish artist Marant collects,
were printed on shirtdresses and interpreted as
sequin embroideries and eyelet embellishments.
— LAURENT FOLCHER
JOHN GALLIANO
Shown in a commercial showroom, John Galliano
pre-fall was essentially the women’s parallel to the
fall men’s collection. Bill Gaytten stressed a more
casual approach — and more affordable price
tag — to the season than the runway collection
coming in March.
There was an emphasis on denim in a range of
fits, washes and patterns including camouflage
and patchwork. Jeans were mixed with mannish
tailored coats and jackets with scarves attached
at the collars, as well as the signature Galliano
bias cut dresses and tops. Outerwear included
sheepskin jackets, biker styles — a must in every
commercial collection — peacoats and coats
in black wool highlighted with patches of shiny
black vinyl. Bottom line: It the lineup was an easy,
wearable wardrobe.
— L.F.
John Galliano
10 28 JANUARY 2016
Nordstrom Lands
Second Location
Near N.Y. Flagship
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
including a shop for shoes and another
for jewelry and contemporary sportswear, both in Greenwich, Conn. Saks also
is opening separate women’s and men’s
stores at Brookfield Place in downtown
Manhattan.
On Columbus Circle, Nordstrom is moving into space that has been occupied by
Bank of America, which was bought out
of its lease in advance of its expiration. SL
Green said the shift reflects its strategy of
replacing below market leases throughout
its portfolio.
Nordstrom has also been eyeing lower
Manhattan for what could be a third Manhattan location, but no location has been
selected and executives have previously
told WWD that the 57th Street flagship
would open first.
Derek Trulson from Jones Lang LaSalle
and Stephen Stephanou from Crown
Retail Services represented Nordstrom,
while Jeff Winick from Winick Realty
Group acted on behalf of the landlord.
BEAUTY
Lauder Promotes de la Faverie,
DiNardo and Rachmanis
● The company names three to
more senior roles within the
firm.
BY JULIE NAUGHTON
Beth DiNardo
Origins’ global reach by accelerating
growth in China and opening varied retail
models throughout Southeast Asia, Europe
and Latin America. De la Faverie joined
the company in 2011 as senior vice president, global general manager, Aramis and
Designer Fragrances.
“Stephane is an extraordinary global
leader who understands the power of
local relevancy and channel diversity,”
said Hudis, who pointed to the elevation
of the Origins shopping experience as an
example.
DiNardo was appointed senior vice president, global general manager of Smashbox
following Lauder’s acquisition of the brand
in 2010. Smashbox now has a presence
in 40 markets worldwide, and DiNardo is
credited with strengthening Smashbox’s
core equity with a focus on hero products,
BEAUTY
Parlux Suing Jay Z
Over Scent Deal
● Lawsuit filed asks for $2
million in royalties, $18 million
in compensatory damages,
among other demands.
BY JULIE NAUGHTON
Parlux Fragrances LLC and Perfumania
Holdings Inc. paid Shawn “Jay Z” Carter
$2 million in 2012 to produce the rapper’s
fragrance. Now they’d like it back, please,
along with 300,000 stock shares in Perfumania, 800,000 warrants to purchase
Perfumania common stock and at least $18
million in compensatory damages.
Court documents filed in the Supreme
Court of the State of New York against
Carter personally and S. Carter Enterprises
LLC, alleges rescission, breach of contract,
breach of implied covenant of good faith
and fair dealing, and asks for declaratory
judgment in Parlux’s favor, in addition to
voiding the contract.
Court filings noted that Parlux expected
to generate at least $15 million at wholesale
for Carter’s Gold Jay Z fragrance in its first
year on counter, 2013, and $35 million at
wholesale in the second and subsequent
years after the launch, including flankers.
The suit states that the brand generated only about $14 million in net sales in
2013 and did “much worse in the second
year” following the launch. “Parlux has
experienced a net loss on this brand after
taking into account marketing and promotional experiences, guaranteed minimum
royalties and all other operating expenses
associated with the brand,” the suit said.
After factoring in returns that retailers
are making of Gold Jay Z “because of the
absence of Jay Z’s participation and a follow-up flanker line,” this brand had sales in
the second year after the launch of only $6.1
Daniel Rachmanis
while spearheading launches, trend
leadership and significantly growing the
color business. Before joining Smashbox,
DiNardo held various global marketing
leadership positions at the company for
brands such as Clinique and Darphin since
1997.
“Beth’s leadership has been the driver
of Smashbox’s incredible global growth to
date,” said Demsey, who praised DiNardo’s “fluency in social and digital, creative
thought leadership and expertise in specialty retail channels.”
Rachmanis has led the company’s
expansion in Latin America since 2009,
when he was named senior vice president
and general manager, Latin America and
International Business Development.
Rachmanis has helped the company triple
sales in Latin America over the last five
million rather than the projected $35 million. “It is expected that sales in subsequent
years will continue to fall,” court papers
stated.
The suit also identifies numerous promotional opportunities it alleges Carter
spurned, including an appearance on
“Good Morning America” and the Sephora
store adjacent to the GMA set; promotional
videos for the fragrance; social media posts
on Carter’s own social media accounts and
providing a quote for the fragrance’s press
release.
As part of an overall marketing campaign
for Gold Jay Z, Parlux worked with Jacob
the Jeweler to create a Gold Jay Z fragrance
bottle with an 18-karat gold cap and poured
gold exterior, which cost Parlux more than
$20,000, according to the suit. The objective was that the contest winner would win
the bottle and cap. Instead, the suit alleges,
Carter rejected all concepts for the campaign, yet kept the prototype gold bottle.
As well, Parlux continued to create flanker
possibilities for Carter, to which they “did
not receive any substantive feedback” from
Carter and his management team.
Parlux’s suit says the company repeatedly
addressed these concerns with Desiree
Perez, Carter’s business manager, to no
avail.
Repeated messages left for Parlux executives had not been returned at press time.
Stephane de la Faverie
years to become the number-one prestige
beauty company in Latin America. This
has included a shift to a retail distribution
model, the launch of seven brands and
expansion into more than 30 key second-tier cities across 17 markets. Rachmanis joined Lauder in 2007 as senior vice
president, international development,
general manager, BeautyBank.
“Daniel has been invaluable in driving
the company’s strategic expansion in Latin
America,” said Prouvé. “His leadership has
enabled the company to pair the biggest
opportunities with the right local markets
to gain a strong foothold in a region traditionally dominated by mass. Daniel’s broad
international experience and keen understanding of the Latin American consumer
will continue to elevate the company’s
growth in the region.”
Jay Z
Jay Z photograph by Tyler Boye
The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. has
promoted three executives, effective
immediately.
Stephane de la Faverie has been named
global brand president, Origins and
Darphin. He will continue to report to
Jane Hertzmark Hudis, group president,
The Estée Lauder Cos. Beth DiNardo has
been promoted to global brand president,
Smashbox. She will continue to report to
John Demsey, executive group president,
The Estée Lauder Cos. Daniel Rachmanis
has been appointed president, Latin America. He will continue to report to Cedric
Prouvé, group president, international,
The Estée Lauder Cos.
“Stephane, Beth and Daniel have been
integral in advancing the company’s strategic initiatives across fast-growing markets,
demographics and categories,” said Fabrizio Freda, Lauder’s president and chief
executive officer.
Added William P. Lauder, executive
chairman of the group, “Stephane, Beth
and Daniel have each demonstrated exemplary leadership throughout their respective distinguished careers.”
De la Faverie previously held the role
of senior vice president and general
manager, Origins and Darphin, a position
he assumed in April 2014. Under de la
Faverie’s watch, Darphin has accelerated
and expanded global distribution and
launched a new counter design in Asia-Pacific markets. De la Faverie has expanded
11
28 JANUARY 2016
Wertheimer In,
Chiquet Ousted
As Chanel CEO
Photograph by Michael Nagle
Chiquet previously worked for at The
Gap. “I know Maureen well. She is one
of the most talented people I’ve had the
privilege of working with. I’m incredibly
surprised.”
He said she was “all around smart,
shrewd and strategic. I’m a big fan of
hers,” Drexler said.
The fashion group noted that over
her nine-year tenure, the New Yorkbased executive “oversaw the successful
international expansion of the house
of Chanel, enhanced its luxury positioning and timeless image, and grew
the business in all categories. She also
established a truly global organization
and enhanced the culture and leadership
of the company.
“She was also instrumental in fostering innovation, driving corporate
social responsibility and establishing the
Chanel foundation,” it added.
In a letter Wertheimer addressed to
Chanel employees, seen by WWD, he
echoed the official statement closely,
while adding, “I am sure that she will be
successful in her future activities.”
He also suggested his assumption of
the ceo’s role is not an interim measure.
“The board of Chanel has decided not
to replace Maureen but to entrust me
once again with full responsibility for the
leadership of the company,” he wrote.
“I am confident in this role because of
the great teams that are in place and the
excellent condition of the company.”
Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, whose
families control Chanel, were ranked
number seven in the latest annual list
of France’s richest people compiled by
weekly news magazine Challenges. They
slipped from number five with a fortune
of 16.5 billion euros, or $18.4 billion,
having sold the Bourjois brand.
According to Bloomberg, Chanel
International BV files its global financial
results with Kamer van Koophandel,
the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. The
most recent data is for 2014, which lists
revenue of $7.5 billion and net income of
$1.4 billion.
Perhaps the person at Chanel who will
be least affected by Chiquet’s ouster is
Lagerfeld, for he had largely frozen the
American executive out of his affairs.
“I hardly knew her,” the designer told
WWD on Wednesday. “We didn’t really
work with her.”
Lagerfeld has repeatedly stated over
the years that Chanel’s fashion business
is essentially run by himself and three
others: Bruno Pavlovsky, president of
fashion activities; Eric Pfrunder, the
company’s longtime image director of
fashion, and Virginie Viard, the designer’s right-hand woman and creative
studio director.
“We don’t talk to marketing people,”
he told WWD in 2009. “We do what our
inner voices tell us. We’re kind of the
Joan of Arcs of the fashion business.”
While privately held Chanel does not
disclose its financials, it is understood
that the fast-growing fashion division
has eclipsed its mighty beauty business
in scale. Pavlovsky recently talked about
the need to build larger boutiques in
order to accommodate growing sales of
ready-to-wear.
Last year, the company also decided to
Maureen Chiquet
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
harmonize global pricing of its fashions
— a daring move that resulted in a sharp
increase in the cost of its handbags in
Europe and a big drop in Asia.
Pavlovsky had characterized the new
pricing policy — which caught some
of the brand’s competitors off guard
— as a way to ensure that customers
are “seduced by the brand and by the
products and not just led by these price
differentials. It’s to prepare the brand for
the next 10 to 15 years. It’s more about
the future than the past.”
On Wednesday, Lagerfeld described
a “Berlin Wall” between the fashion
and beauty businesses at Chanel. And
although he has occasionally collaborated on the perfume side, famously
dressing Nicole Kidman for a No.5 ad in
2004, the designer has been critical of
some of the choices made under Chiquet’s watch, including a No.5 campaign
featuring Audrey Tautou in 2009.
That year, Lagerfeld took Tautou to
task for remarks in an interview. Asked
by the French edition of Premiere if
she wears a lot of Chanel, she replied:
“Sometimes. This morning, I wore the
rain boots.”
“I didn’t even know we made rain
boots,” Lagerfeld retorted in WWD.
“After that, I don’t have to be nice.”
If he had his druthers, Lagerfeld said
he would have suggested Penélope Cruz
as a better role model for the storied
French house.
With her mass background from The
Gap, Chiquet was an unusual choice
for Chanel when she was named president-elect in 2003 and the eventual successor to Arie L. Kopelman, who retired
as Chanel president in December 2004
but continued as vice chairman of the
board. Prior to joining Chanel in 2003,
Chiquet was president of Gap Inc.’s
Banana Republic division after holding
several executive posts at Old Navy
and the Gap. She joined Gap in 1988 as
assistant merchandiser in the accessories
division. She began her career at L’Oréal
in Paris in 1985 as a product manager,
having graduated from Yale University.
When Chiquet joined Chanel she
immediately moved to Paris to spend a
year working with senior management
to understand the brand and strengthen
international communications, operations and strategic planning. In October
2004, she relocated to New York as
president and chief operating officer,
directing all U.S. operations for beauty
and fragrance, fashion, watches and fine
jewelry. In January 2007, she was named
global ceo, a new role at the company.
Her mandate as global ceo was to
guide Chanel well into the 21st century.
She was charged with overseeing and
coordinating all the company’s activities worldwide and reported directly to
Wertheimer.
“She did a great job. I don’t know if
they ever gave her full control. Maureen is one of the most effective luxury
executives who’s been able to navigate
a global and challenging environment
while launching a number of new categories in a very fresh way in addition to
driving the core business,” said Karen
Harvey, ceo of the Karen Harvey Consulting Group. “She has done an exceptional
“The board of Chanel has decided not
to replace Maureen but to entrust me
once again with full responsibility for
the leadership of the company.”
— Alain Wertheimer, Chanel
job as a leader. People who have worked
directly with her all over the world have
been inspired by her.”
Harvey believes Chiquet will be able
to select her next endeavor. “She’s at
the top of every list when we do ceo
searches,” she said.
“Their loss is somebody else’s potential gain,” agreed Jaimee Marshall,
executive vice president of Kirk Palmer
Associates, the executive recruiting firm.
“For the open ceo searches that exist in
our space, assuming she wants it, somebody will benefit from their decision to
part ways.”
Marshall pointed out there’s a dearth
of talent, and Chiquet’s combination of
skills in both vertical specialty retail and
the global luxury market are extremely
rare.
“I have always thought she is one
of the luxury fashion industry’s top
executive talent. Karl has raised the
bar so high creatively that this position
requires strong leadership. It’s a big, big
ship to steer while not diluting the brand
equity, which from my view she has done
very well,” said Kim Vernon, president
and ceo of Vernon Co., an industry
consultant.
In 2006, Chiquet sat down with WWD
editor in chief Ed Nardoza at the WWD
CEO Summit and spoke about the best
piece of advice she ever got from Drexler
at The Gap. She recalled her experience
working in the denim department and
said she was probably very arrogant.
During a meeting, she told Drexler that
something was “the greatest new finish,”
and he kept asking questions. She gave
him a hundred reasons explaining why
and wasn’t listening to a word Drexler
said.
“So I left the room and he called me
later and he said, ‘You know, Maureen,
you’re a great merchant, but you need to
learn to listen.’”
And she said learning to listen was
one of the greatest lessons that she had,
because it wasn’t just listening to your
boss, but listening to your consumers
and the world around you.
12 28 JANUARY 2016
BUSINESS
Iconix Brand Group
Adopts Poison Pill
● The company is exploring the
typical antitakeover measure
because of recent activity in its
shares.
BY VICKI M. YOUNG
Iconix Brand Group Inc. now has a poison pill in place — and it’s aimed squarely
at the U.K.’s Sports Direct International.
According to Iconix, the board adopted
the rights plan because of recent activity
in the company’s shares. That activity
includes the accumulation of positions by
holders of derivative securities and what
the company’s board and management
believe is a depressed share price for
Iconix’s common stock.
Earlier this month, U.K. sporting
retailer Sports Direct raised its ownership
stake in Iconix to nearly seven million
shares, representing a 14.4 percent economic interest in the shares. Sports Direct
said in a regulatory filing that the stake
represents indirect economic interests
through contracts for difference. The U.K.
retailer disclosed its initial stake in Iconix
on Jan. 5 at 4.3 million shares, representing a 9 percent interest. Then on Jan. 16 it
disclosed that the stake was raised to 5.6
million shares, or an 11.5 percent interest. The company said on Jan. 16 that its
stake is “strategic” and its rationale was
to “hopefully build a relationship and
develop commercial partnerships with
the relevant parties.”
Sports Direct has long had an interest
in Umbro, which Iconix acquired in 2012
for $225 million.
Shares of Iconix fell 4.7 percent to close
at $6.25 in Nasdaq trading.
Iconix said its board has adopted a
short-term shareholder rights plan, which
will expire following the 2016 annual
meeting of shareholders, absent an extension approved by shareholders.
Under the terms, one preferred stock
purchase right will be distributed for
each share of common stock held by
shareholders of record on Feb. 12. The
rights can be exercised only if a person or
group acquires beneficial ownership of 20
percent or more of Iconix common stock
(including synthetic ownership through
derivative positions). Should that threshold level ever be met, each holder of a
right — other than the person or group
triggering the rights — will be entitled to
purchase shares of common stock within
certain parameters, such as exercise
price. The rights plan is sometimes called
a poison pill because shares acquired
under the plan have a value of twice the
exercise price of the right, while rights
held by a person or group that triggered
the plan would become void.
Public companies adopt rights plans to
protect the interests of the company and
its shareholders to prevent any one person or group from gaining control of the
firm through open-market accumulations
of shares. A rights plan can also reduce
the likelihood that anyone can gain control of a company through other tactics,
and it typically gives a firm time to decide
on its best option and response when
faced with a possible takeover situation. It
also prevents a takeover attempt without
the payment of a control premium to the
targeted firm.
Iconix said the rights plan “applies
equally to all current and future shareholders and is not intended to deter offers
that are fair and otherwise in the best
interests of the company and its shareholders.” It noted that the adoption of
the rights plan will not be a taxable event
and will have no impact on the company’s
financial reporting.
Iconix emphasized that the rights plan
in place is similar to plans that have been
adopted by other public firms, and that
it “was not adopted in response to any
specific takeover bid or other proposal to
acquire control of the company.”
Drew Cohen, Iconix’s lead director,
BUSINESS
said, “This short-term plan is consistent
with our commitment to ensuring that all
Iconix shareholders realize the long-term
value of their investment. The Iconix
board and management are focused
on driving the company’s success and
addressing the issues that have impacted
more recent performance.”
Cohen also noted that the company
continues to “make progress” on its
refinancing plans, and is working toward
a resolution with the SEC staff in connection with a comment letter process that
began last year.
The brand management firm has until
June to complete a refinancing of its $300
million debt obligation. Financial sources
said the company could likely complete
the refinancing before the June deadline.
A credit analyst said the refinancing
would come at a hefty price in the form of
a premium on the interest rate, given the
current state of the credit markets. This
individual also said there’s a good chance
the refinancing of the 2016 note would
include a priority lien to give holders of
the convertible note first-in-line status.
That would essentially give the 2016 note
holders priority status for repayment of
the note down the road, representing a
jump ahead-of-the-line over holders of the
2018 convertible note.
On the SEC front, Iconix learned last
month that the letter process was upped
to a formal order of investigation. The
change in the SEC status allows the staff to
issue subpoenas to compel individuals to
talk and enforce requests for documentation. Iconix has repeatedly stressed that it
has been involved in an ongoing dialogue
with the SEC staff, and that it has been
forthcoming with information and materials requested by the SEC.
Jesse Cole
● With his new business, Jesse
Cole is looking to unite brands
with celebrities and more.
BY EVAN CLARK
In the asymmetric warfare that is fashion today, the useful connections are not
always obvious. That’s just what former
Haute Hippie chief executive officer Jesse
Cole is looking to capitalize on with
Design & Industry, his follow-up foray on
Seventh Avenue.
Design & Industry is building out an
ecosystem that can connect celebrities
with opportunities for brand endorsement deals or book contracts, while
providing staffing services to apparel
producers or even rustling up investment
capital.
The effort to build a one-stop shop is
a response to an increasingly fractured
fashion world where consumers are
being very careful with their money,
shopping in new ways and taking more
of their cues from big names they see on
their mobile devices.
“The landscape of apparel has changed
dramatically,” Cole said. “Consumers are
a lot smarter and knowledgeable about
their spending and shopping habits.
The whole way that people promote
has changed. The day of the glamorous
model is over. Celebrities are the strong
endorsers of product.”
Well-known names are increasingly
cognizant that they are their own brand.
“The way that they keep modern and
relevant is through social media, and
what better time than now to endorse
their own products or get behind a product line that will keep their brand consistent and moving forward and ahead of
the game?” Cole said. “Many celebrities
have a huge love for fashion and they all
feel that they should be pushing some
sort of fashion or apparel product. We’re
looking to increase the viability for our
celebrity roster by pushing them into
certain categories that may not have had
a celebrity.”
Brands have long recognized that a
nod from a famous face can be a boost,
but how to make that happen?
With Design & Industry, Cole has
forged a network of experts specializing
in various categories. The thinking is that
a deal in one area will lead to another
connection, so an athlete represented
by Martin Morse’s MM Group can also
turn to literary agent Ian Kleinert for
that book they want to write; tap into
the Chambers Group for PR, or work on
a licensing deal with Christian James or
Andy Hilfiger — all part of the Design &
Industry network.
Likewise, brands that turn to the company when they’re looking for help with
an executive search or staffing needs can
find, perhaps, a celebrity endorser in the
offing.
That’s something like the Wall Street
business model, where the banking business feeds trading and the trading business is fed by the research arm, which
attracts banking and so on. The parallel
makes sense, especially given that Cole
founded financial services firm Schonfeld
IBS and then developed Merlin Institutional’s research sales and trading unit.
Morse said, “We’ve come to a place
where we’ve said, ‘This is what your
strength is’ and, ‘You focus on that.’”
MM Group manages the lives of 32 athletes, such as baseball player Gary Sheffield, but doesn’t specialize in branding
or licensing deals.
“It’s been great to have Jesse and
his team kind of manage that,” he
said. “It’s easy to have an introductory
conversation.”
For instance, MM client and controversial wide receiver Plaxico Burress
is a sock lover who has started his own
luxury sock line and could benefit from
some more fashion connections.
“Fashion is the one common denominator, connector between all the
groups,” Morse said. “Entertainers and
athletes love fashion and obviously from
a business perspective, the retail side is
where you’re really ringing the register.
Look at Jessica Simpson and
Jessica Alba.”
Photograph by Michael Stewart/WireImage
Design & Industry’s
7th Ave. Connection
13
28 JANUARY 2016
A Personal Look at Irving Penn
An exhibition at Pace/MacGill Gallery features 56 images from the Thirties to the Aughts.
Irving Penn’s prolific
editorial photographs
for Vogue and advertising work for Clinique
and Issey Miyake are
iconic. But the famed
photographer almost
always had a camera in
hand to document his
personal life and travels. It’s those photos
that will be on display at
Pace/MacGill Gallery in
Manhattan from Friday
in an exhibition called
“Irving Penn: Personal
Work.”
“It’s illuminating to
see, left to his own
desires, what he did to
fill out the matrix of his
life’s work,” says Peter
MacGill, president of
the gallery, which two
years ago mounted
an exhibition of Penn’s
editorial and advertising work called “Irving
Penn: On Assignment.”
“If you combine our two
exhibitions, it’s a killer
retrospective.”
The 56 photos in the
new exhibit include the
dancer Alexandra Beller, still lifes of cigarette
butts, animal skulls
(which Penn called
“cranium architecture”)
from travels through
Prague and misspelled
signs from a road trip
through the American
South — these being the
earliest images, shot in
the Thirties and Forties.
The show includes
photos from then
until 2007.
“Walking around
various cities, he
saw things that were
interesting to him,” says
MacGill, who worked
with Penn from 1985
until his death in 2009.
“So when he saw these
signs, [that looked] like
the typewriter was
broken, he found them
very charming and
interesting and also a
really good portrait of
the time.”
MacGill was also
struck by Penn’s discerning eye. “What’s incredible when you look
at the contact sheets
and you see that one
roll of film, 12 pictures,
was made in three
cities,” he says. Penn
wasn’t paid to shoot on
his own of course and
so “he shot prudently,”
MacGill adds. “Commercial photographers,
professional photographers, even when they
were using film were
notorious for shooting
hundreds of pictures.
Now with digital, it’s
thousands of pictures.”
Still, the gallery
had seven decades’
worth of images to
sift through — and
even though that task
was daunting, MacGill
admits it was hard to
go wrong. “It’s sort of a
curatorial lay up, when
it’s Irving Penn,” says
MacGill. — ALLY BETKER
Optician’s Shop
Window (B), New
York, 1939
“Cigarette No. 37,”
New York, 1972
“Roe Deer, Prague,” 1986
Irving Penn’s “Photograph
of Self,” New York, 1993.
“The Bath (L) (Dancers Workshop of San
Francisco),” San Francisco, 1967
Photographs courtesy of The Irving Penn Foundation
“Bone Forest,”
New York, 1980
15
28 JANUARY 2016 Elle U.S. editor in
chief Robbie
Myers, with Six
Foods’ Rose
Wang and CDI’s
Nicolas Hazard .
Dylan Penn appears in
Fay’s spring ad campaign.
An image from NYDJ’s “Fit to Be” ad campaign.
JIMINY CRICKET
One day, entomologists may be able to point
to Elle for making crickets the latest in gourmet
food.
On Tuesday, a panel of judges led by editor
in chief Robbie Myers listened to four entrepreneurs give a “Shark Tank”-style presentation for
the chance to win the Elle Impact Award. Elle,
along with investment firm Le Comptoir de l’Innovation and social enterprise company Calso,
developed the award, which aims to help grow a
female entrepreneur’s business.
This year, nine editions of Elle – including
France, India, Italy Canada, South Africa, Sweden, Belgium and the U.K. – will crown their
country’s winner. That winner will travel to Paris
in April to compete for the grand prize at IMPACT2, an international event on social entrepreneurship.
U.S. candidates included Six Foods, a sustainable food company that promotes the
consumption of insects; Atikus, a microfinance
firm geared to facilitating loans to underserved
individuals across the globe; handmade hand-
bag maker JadeTribe, and water conservancy
company Water Collective.
At Hearst Tower in New York, U.S. candidates
presented before a jury that included Feed
founder and chief executive officer Lauren Bush
Lauren; journalist and ceo of Starfish Media
Soledad O’Brien; Red ceo Deborah Dugan, and
Desiree Gruber, president and ceo of Full Picture.
Six Foods cofounder and ceo Rose Wang took
home the prize after her insightful presentation
that emphasized the importance of limiting food
waste by harvesting insects, and included a tasting of tortilla chips made of crickets punctuated
with a humorous slide that read “Bug Appétit.”
All Elle Impact winners will receive mentoring
and support from CDI and Calso, and will also
get a feature in their country’s edition of Elle.
— ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD
WELL-FITTING
NYDJ is rolling out its new ad campaign on
Thursday, which features Christie Brinkley, body
activist Ashley Graham and TV personality and
model Lana Ogilvie as well as “Blue Bloods”
actress Bridget Moynahan, who was in the prior
campaign.
The 2016 campaign moniker is “Fit to Be.”
The ads will showcase various emotions that
complete the “Fit to Be” tagline, such as “Fit to
Be Powerful” or “Fit to Be Sexy” as well as “Fit to
Be Confident,” among others. The company said
the campaign was developed in partnership with
Toth + Co. and was shot by photographer TESH
in New York. The campaign was styled by Inge
Fonteyne, and includes both individual and group
images of the personalities wearing NYDJ’s
denim, pants, dresses and tops.
The campaign is running in print and digital
channels, and will first appear in the spring
issues of women’s magazines. The NYDJ spring
collection is currently in department stores
across the U.S. as well as on NYDJ.com. The
company said the campaign “celebrates NYDJ’s
signature Original Slimming Fit with a diverse
and multigenerational cast that highlights the
feminine strength and beauty of women of all
ages and all sizes.”
Bob Skinner, president and chief executive
officer of NYDJ, said “whether she’s a size 2 or
22, we hear from our customers that there is a
distinct emotional moment when she slips on
NYDJ and experiences our signature, slimming
fit.”
NYDJ said the campaign includes activating a
#FittoBe Instagram push starting Thursday and
running throughout the year. “The social acti-
vation will feature 58 women of various denim
sizes including the campaign faces as well
as influencers, bloggers, magazine and retail
partners dressed in NYDJ and promoting the
hashtag, #FittoBe, while highlighting a distinct
emotion they get from wearing the jeans,” the
company noted.
— ARTHUR ZACZKIEWICZ
BROTHER AND SISTER ACT
Dylan and Hopper Penn appear in Fay’s advertising campaign for spring — the first time the
two siblings have worked together. The offspring
of Sean Penn and Robin Wright, the two young
actors are photographed in Palm Springs by
Michelangelo di Battista. Styled by Sissy Vian,
Hopper Penn wears a micro Vichy trenchcoat, a
director’s jacket in washed cotton and a technical field jacket, while his sister Dylan dons a
trenchcoat, a safari jacket in washed cotton
and a Victoria field jacket with delicate paisley
embroideries.
The images for the Italian brand, under the
Tod’s group umbrella, are meant to catch joyful
and spontaneous moments, whether more
daily and elegant or sportier, like a casual stroll
through the neighborhood or a motorcycle race
through the desert.
Dylan and Hopper Penn are expected to
attend the Fay show in Milan on Feb. 24.
— LUISA ZARGANI
Charlotte Free
Myers photograph by Getty Images for Elle; Free by Stéphane Feugère
STARSTRUCK
Mélanie Thierry had stars in her eyes as she
walked out of the Valentino show Wednesday evening, at which she sat huddled up to fellow French
actress Ludivine Sagnier.
“It was breathtakingly beautiful,” Thierry enthused, otherwise lost for words.
Clotilde Courau had a few things to say about
current events. Having just wrapped up filming
Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar’s “Le Ciel Attendra”
(or “Heaven Will Wait”), a movie by about teenage
jihadis, she observed: “The situation is very serious and people don’t really realize that.
“It was extremely complicated, violent, disturbing and frightening,” she commented about acting
in the movie, in which she plays a mother.
Louis Garrel had less trouble adapting to his
most recent role of a wounded lieutenant in Nicole
Garcia’s adaptation of Milena Agus’ novel “Mal de
Pierres,” set during the Indochina War.
“It’s just acting,” he joked.
Marisa Berenson was very excited about her
next project, meanwhile.
“I’m about to go back on stage,” she confided
gleefully. “I’m thrilled about that.”
The role, in London, will be in a modern spin of
one of Shakespeare’s plays, she said.
his sister, Alison Eastwood, directed. “It’s called
‘Battlecreek.’ She’s presenting at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in the next few days,” he said.
And how is their father doing? “He’s great. He’s
finishing a film right now, ‘Sully,’ about the pilot who
landed the plane on the Hudson River, with Tom
Hanks. It’s for September, I think.” Is he composing the music? “He hasn’t done the music yet so
maybe,” he replied.
Iggy Azalea, Caroline Vreeland, Kristina Bazan,
Jessé Rémond Lacroix and Blanca Li also sat front
row at the show.
Bazan, a blogger and L’Oréal Paris face, who
counts 2.2 million Instagram fans, said she’s to
release her first single in March. “It’s R&B and
pop,” she teased.
Li said she’s to choreograph a fashion commercial but remained mum on further details. She has
also a collaboration with Christian Louboutin in
the pipes.
Rémond Lacroix is to star in the second season
of TV show “Versailles” whose shooting starts
next month. Later this spring, the French actor is
to shoot a film by Manuel Munz in Paris, Mykonos
and San Francisco. “I play the part of a young hip
Parisian. It’s a character study,” he said.
— LAURE GUILBAULT
— ALEX WYNNE
PRIMA DONNA
ALL THAT JAZZ
Kyle Eastwood and his wife, Cynthia, took in the
Viktor & Rolf couture show on Wednesday in Paris.
“I am just starting a tour in February all over Europe,” Eastwood said. “I am in Europe most of the
time. I play with my band here. We’ll be at [Paris’
concert hall] Café de la Danse on Feb. 20.”
The jazz musician and the son of Clint Eastwood, who lives in the City of Light eight months of
the year, has just wrapped up the music for a film
Emanuel Ungaro threw a birthday bash at the
Petit Palais in Paris on Tuesday night to celebrate
its 50th anniversary and La Diva, a new women’s
fragrance.
Fronting the scent is Charlotte Free, who made
a grand appearance in the museum’s great hall.
The model known for pink hair got to keep her
signature coif in the advertising shot by Billy Kidd,
but had to rush for a last-minute touch-up before
the shoot because it wasn’t pink enough.
“It was kind of a disaster,” admitted Free, whose
tresses are now green, so she had to wear a pink
wig at the event.
Free doesn’t consider herself a diva, per se, but
said that being unafraid of putting her foot down
could be misread.
“I’ve never been shy to say ‘I’m not doing that,’”
she said. “I don’t like doing something that I feel is
copying someone.”
The model feels copycatting is especially
prevalent in fashion – for instance at a photo shoot
where the aim is to recreate another photograph.
“I really don’t like that. I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Free, who’s been dabbling in music in
her home base of Los Angeles.
Among the hundreds of guests were French actress Frédérique Bel, who will be seen next in “Les
Visiteurs: La Révolution,” the latest installment in
the hugely popular French film franchise about a
time-traveling medieval nobleman and his squire,
played by Jean Reno and Christian Clavier.
“I play a sort of punk actress with pink hair and
see-through dresses with cleavage up to here,”
she said, adding that her character is a member
of the Merveilleuses, a fashionable aristocratic
subculture after the French revolution.
“It’s funny because when I was filming it, I was
also playing a Catholic fundamentalist in ‘The
Student and Mister Henri,’ so it was very schizophrenic switching between the roles,” she added
with a laugh.
French singer Élodie Frégé said she’s serving
as a member of a jury on the television show
“Nouvelle Star,” which identifies singing talent
and whose new season is set to be broadcast on
channel D8 starting Feb. 16.
David Downton was marking his 20th year
illustrating the Paris couture shows. He plans to
gather that body of work in a London exhibition.
“I came at the right moment by luck, not judgment, so I saw Galliano and McQueen come in and
the retirement of Saint Laurent and Valentino, and
the new Valentino – so it’s been this extraordinary
passing parade,” he said. “I’m the luckiest person,
and partly, I’m the luckiest because I know I’m
lucky.”
Marie Beltrami’s hands were dripping with tiny
gold mice, which decorated the rings she wore
from her new jewelry collection. Beltrami said the
eponymous line is available on her Web site, but
that she’s not yet shown it publicly.
La Diva’s floral fruity gourmand fragrance, concocted by Firmenich perfumer Marie Salamagne,
will be launched in France and Italy starting in
March before being rolled out elsewhere.
Its positioning is younger than that of other
Ungaro scents, explained Luciano Bertinelli, chief
executive officer of Ferragamo Parfums, the
Ungaro fragrance licensee.
“We are hoping to enlarge the consumer base,
reach a new target,” he said.
— JENNIFER WEIL AND JOELLE DIDERICH