Second City Style Fashion Blog - Style, Luxury, Beauty & Shopping

Retail Detail. EBay Plans Holiday Store.

EBay has just announced it will open its first holiday store, a 5,500-square-foot pop-up at 3 West 57th Street. The pop up shop will operate between Nov. 20 to 29, except Thanksgiving Day, and will be chock full of high end wares, including a selection of Norma Kamali’s exclusive fashions for eBay, L.A.M.B shoes, handbags from Michael Kors and Dooney & Burke, Anthropologie dresses, cosmetics from M.A.C., Smashbox and other brands, and the Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue and Vera Wang Princess fragrances.

Electronics, toys, home and garden items will also be displayed throughout the temporary retail space, but shoppers will have access to the entire eBay marketplace via Internet kiosks, handheld tablets and the eBay mobile phone application. Just like a state of the art Santa sack! EBay will unveil the shop with a cocktail party on Nov. 19 and on Black Friday, a limited quantity of “daily deal” items will be awarded to the first 100 shoppers who visit the store. And in good tidings of the season, dollars spent in the holiday shop, up to $200,000, will be matched by eBay to support Global Giving, Grammy in the Schools, Oxfam America, Right to Play, Save the Children, Share Our Strength, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Starlight, Toys for Tots, U.S. Fund for UNICEF and YouthAIDS EBay.

Article Source: WWD
Photo Source: guardian.co.uk
-Alia Rajput

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Retail Detail. Despite Recession, The Limited Lengthens Pop Up Life, Lord & Taylor Plans a Makeover

Despite widespread layoffs and citywide closings, at least one retailer is doing well for itself. The Limited’s pop-up store at 134 Spring Street has proved more than its share from a successful four day run, from Oct. 14 to 17. Now reps for the retailer have confirmed that the life of the pop up shop has been extended to Dec. 28. “The results of the first four days encouraged us to extend the life span of the pop-up store,” said Linda Heasley, chairman and chief executive officer. The concept behind the pop-up was to reintroduce the brand to New Yorkers, who haven’t had a Limited store in Manhattan since 1999. Bestsellers in the brand's current collection included infinity scarves in all colors as well as sweaters and a number of dramatic necklaces. The shop sold out of dog sweaters, graphic Ts, fake leather trapunto bomber jackets and several dress silhouettes. In addition to giftable items for the holidays, the store in December will preview items from the spring collection.

Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue in New York

And in another corner of the city, another of Manhattan’s big, bustling department stores is finally getting its turn for renovations. Lord & Taylor has been patiently waiting as the other stores in the neighborhood have undergone massive reconstructions. But now its owner, the Hudson’s Bay Trading Co., is investing in the 11-floor, 650,000-square-foot unit, on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets, with a plan to completely overhaul the main, second and 10th floors. Among the relocations—much of the men’s wear collections on one, an assortment of shirts, furnishings, accessories, socks, underwear and sleepwear will relocate to 10, where the rest of men’s wear is located. This move will free up space on the main floor to grow the popular cosmetics and women’s accessories categories. Second-floor renovations to expand the contemporary sportswear collections are also under way. About three years ago, the thought was to convert a lot of the flagship’s unproductive selling space to office space and build a tower atop the building.

Before the recession hit, the Lord & Taylor building was said to be worth between $300 million and $400 million and account for about $140 million in sales, or 10 percent of the chain’s total volume. Other big Manhattan flagships, such as Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, generate far greater percentages of their total volumes, between 20 and 25 percent. Hopefully the new changes to the store will prove a more efficient layout and contribute to increasing the Lord & Taylor sales over the upcoming seasons.

Article Source: WWD
Photo Sources: The Limited, The New York Times
-Alia Rajput

Anthropologie Opens New Store in Great Britain

Anthropologie is opening it's first-ever European store with the lauch of its 10,000 square-foot Regent Street emporium in London on Friday.  Featuring a 50-foot-high wall of evergreen plants fed by rainwater, and a 50-ton glass, textured concrete and metal staircase, the store will house accessories, clothes and homeware. The brand, a Philadelphia-based division of Urban Outfitters Inc., will also stay true to its history and import a mix of local and sourced merchandise.

James Bidwell, Anthropologie's managing director for Europe said, "London is an amazing opportunity for the brand, which we think looks at life in a slightly different way. We're not about fast fashion, and we see ourselves as appealing to costumers who are creative, artistic and well-traveled."

The new store will neighbor such brands as Burberry, Brooks Brothers, Aquascutum and even Gap. The brand will also open another 10,000 square-foot venue on King's Road in London in the spring and launch a website retailing specifically to the U.K. and continental Europe. This, however, are simply the beginning of Anthropologie's large expansion across the pond. The company is planning to add a minimum of 100 Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie stores in Europe.

-Nina Krek

Story & Photo Source: WWD

Anthropologie Unveils Mise en Scene Line from Ruffian

 

Anthropologie unveiled the new Mise en Scene line from Ruffian's Brian Wolk and Claude Morais today at its Rockefeller Center flagship store in New York City. The creation of the line, which features luxurious fabrics like cashmere, silk and boucle, and details such as hand construction, architectural silhouettes, and signature ruffles, was quite unexpected.

Anthropologie's chief merchandising officer, Wendy Wurtzburger, just happened to admire the duo's art installations and came over to tell them. 

Wolk said,"We started chatting and found that we had very similar approaches in terms of how we operate and how we're both very concept-driven. I said, 'Ruffian is a small company that thinks like a big company,' and Wendy said, "Anthropologie is a big company that thinks like a small company.' We loved each other from the first meeting and got along famously."

They get along so famously, in fact, that Wolk and Marais have a two-year contract with the retailer. Wurtzenburg even gave them a design carte blanche. Mise en Scene is inspired by their favorite films and movie stars, including Marlene Dietrich, Gena Rowlands and Bette Davis. Luckily for everyone, Wolk and Morais claim that the line is simply the beginning. 

-Nina Krek

Story and Photo Source: WWD

Gap Ads to Run This Holiday Season

 

Welcome back to TV, Gap! After two years without any Gap ads, starting in November, you will be able to see a completely new ad campaign.  In a very optimistic move, Gap Inc., has decided to spend $25 million more on marketing this quarter and $45 million more in the fourth quarter than last year. 

During the past two years, Gap has used photography and the internet to reach its audiences. This year, however, Gap moved its advertising account to Crispin, Porter & Bogusky -- the same firm that comes up with those hilarious and successful Old Navy ads. 

Gap's holiday ad campaign will focus on one of the season's largest trends, plaid, in an effort to create an "Americans around a cozy cabin" feeling. Marka Hansen, president of Gap in North America said, "We have shifted our approach from this iconic photography that Gap has been famous for -- that's very beautiful but nostalgic -- to trying to be very, very relevant." 

-Nina Krek

Story Source: NY Post

Photo Source: WWD

Liz Claiborne Moves to JC Penny, Isaac Mizrahi Moves to QVC, and John Bartlett Moves on

Will the recession's impact on the fashion industry ever end? In a shocking move, Liz Claiborne has announced they will no longer sell at Macy's and Dillards. The classic American sportswear designer is going to be sold exclusively at JC Penny. This is largely seen as a coup for the retailer, which has been trying to spice up its designer lines, and as a reaction to the recession by the design label. JC Penny has bought a 10 year licensing deal that will allow them to buy the brand name after only five years. Liz Claiborne is set to design the upcoming lines and JC Penny will produce and sell them. The move also means that Isaac Mizrahi's Liz Claiborne New York line will be sold only on QVC and that John Bartlett for Liz Claiborne, the menswear line, will no longer be in production. Vice-President of Public Relations for Liz Claiborne had this to say regarding the end of collaboration with John Bartlett to Racked.com: "Inability to get the traction with this brand relaunch is not a reflection of the design vision or even a reaction to the product. It is more a reflection of the state of the men's apparel business in general." 

-Nina Krek

Story Source: Racked.com, WWD

Photo Source: WWD

Retail Detail. Mui Mui Pulls Out of Several U.S. Department Stores.

Looks from the Miu Miu Spring 2010 collection

Miuccia Prada received rave reviews of her fun and frisky, cat-themed collection that purred down the runways yesterday in Paris. Her unique vision included cats, birds, and naked women unfolding across beautifully sculpted pieces. But as we were all oohing and aahing over the Spring 2010 collection, the company was making a business decision that may affect all us stateside fans. Miu Miu has apparently pulled out of several well-known U.S. department stores following a disagreement over the placement of Miu Miu's popular line of bags. Prada's secondary line seemingly wanted to have their own store within the store, but the retailers preferred the bags to be mixed in with other labels. Without being able to reach a compromise, the Italian brand removed all merchandise from those particular stores. Hopefully, some resolution can be found between the two parties soon so we can all go back to normal, lusting after those decadent Miu Miu bags.

Don't leave us Miu Miu!!

Article Source: WSJ
Photo Sourcs: NY Mag, bagsnob.com
-Alia Rajput

Bah Humbug! Retailers Expecting Holiday Sales to Fall Flat...Again

This doesn't look good. According to today's The NY Post, The National Retail Federation stated yesterday it expects holiday sales to fall 1 percent, to $437.6 billion, on top of last year's abysmal 3.4 percent decline. If September's back-to-school sales were any indication the holidays are again going to be a dud.

Mall-based outlets from Ann Taylor to Abercrombie & Fitch have already been slashing prices in a desperate effort to hold shoppers' attention, according to Credit Suisse analyst Paul Lejuez. This early, that's a bad sign.

Sluggish demand reflects continued malaise in the economy, industry experts say. While the stock market has rallied somewhat, unemployment is still almost in double-digit percentages. "Consumers are shopping less and less, and people who shopped in September only bought the deals," said Britt Beemer, president of America's Research Group.

The economy is particularly worrisome for higher-end shops like Saks which last holiday season started the pre-holiday markdown wars. While the luxury chain's shares have rallied in recent months as fears about its future have receded, holiday prospects look uncertain, said Charles Grom, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase.

However, much of the rally in retail shares -- which have outperformed the broader market since March -- are attributed to profit rather than sales outlooks. Indeed, most chains have slashed inventory and other costs to protect margins against the markdowns that still appear necessary to attract shoppers.

Still, "those markdowns are going to be worse than a lot of chains were hoping," Beemer said. Yikes.

Source: NY Post

Retail Detail. Buyers Excited by Milan, Hope The Best For Paris.

Versace Spring 2010

Milan Fashion Week has quietly come to a close and without skipping a beat, Paris Fashion Week has begun. Today marks the first day of Paris shows, featuring the likes of Rochas and Gareth Pugh and causing weary fashion editors to dab some La Mer around their puffy, sleep-deprived eyes. And though the craziness of the season has officially taken its toll, retail buyers were sending reports from Milan so saturated with enthusiasm that it seems it all may be worth it. “The Milan collections felt more commercially relevant than in recent seasons: either hot and sexy or light, fluid and romantic,” said Jennifer Wheeler, vice president of designer apparel at Nordstrom. Wheeler's sentiments were echoed throughout the overall review of nearly every buyer present, lauding the fresh, revitalized feel the fashions conveyed for spring.

Prada Spring 2010

Jil Sander Spring 2010

Many buyers expressed confidence that the Milan collections had what it will take to get their customers excited about next season and drop some much needed funding into the retail industry. Buyers said they were working with similar budgets to last year and would be smart in choosing which collections to back. “We’re focused on finding terrific items. Our customer is buying what she doesn’t have in her closet,” said Ken Downing, senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus. Companies outside of Europe had to be particularly cautious with the tumultuous nature of the country's currency in regard to their own. “With the strong euro, we will have to be more careful with what we buy. The products have to correspond rightly with the price,” said Cindy Ho, fashion and merchandising director of Villa Moda, Kuwait. Even in the shows themselves, buyers found ways to cut corners by opting out of actual shows in favor of showroom appointments or giving up front row seats. "I think the obsession with front-row seating is a symptom of an overactive ego. We should be thankful we’re here,” said Stephanie Solomon, vice president of fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s.

Roberto Cavalli Spring 2010

And thankful you all were, as the uglier business side was forgotten and the elegance and sheer beauty of the designs took over. The most mentionable looks of the season included transparency and layering; lingerie detailing like lace and feminine prints; miniskirts and dresses, shorts, floaty pants and tailored jackets were among the most must-have items. In terms of color, favorite palettes included black and white and bold, pastel and earthy tones. “Overall, the Milan collections reflected an upbeat mood, with designers focusing on what they do best,” agreed Colleen Sherin, fashion market director at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Gucci Spring 2010

Article and Photo Source: WWD
-Alia Rajput

Retail Detail. Mango Launches New Lower Priced Line.

This is what budget-friendly looks like

European retailer Mango has just announced it will be launching a cheap-er line to its already affordable inventory to help the state of the economy start to improve. The new line, titled THINK UP, is  being pegged as the company's "solution to the difficult economic climate affecting shoppers around the globe." So seemingly to help us help ourselves out of our widespread no shopping rut. Although we have yet to see the entirety of THINK UP (or much more than the plain white shirt above), the clothes will be priced starting at just under $25. The line will also host its own social networking blog, mangothinkup.com, that opens with a cool albeit dizzying video. We're just wondering who the company will get to model the budget friendly line since former poster girls Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson probably won't be very enthused.

Article and Photo Source: NY Mag
-Alia Rajput