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« August 2007 | Main | October 2007 »
Perhaps you're like me and often glance in the mirror
thinking, "Oh dear god, this cannot be how I look today!" And then
you realize, yes, in fact, it is how you look every day. Thankfully, there's Chanel.
Stay tuned...I have a feeling this concept will be spreading
to more U.S. locations.
This just in, and hot off the presses, charming, and ever so cute Todd Oldman will be designing a new line for the much beleaguered Old Navy. He will be installed as their new creative director, effective Oct. 1, 2007. I for one confess I have mixed feelings. I feel a little bit like Judy Garland in that old MGM trailer where she’s singing to Clark Gable; she croons, "Dear Mr. Gable, I am writing you to say… (cue Max Steiner orchestra and violins) You made me love you, I didn’t want to do it, and I didn’t want to do it." Old Navy? Todd, say it ain’t so.
Mr. Oldham fresh from his stint on "Top Design" is of course in august company, as Vera Wang is designing for Kohl’s (deep breath). Victor & Rolf, Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld have invigorated sales at H&M (gulp). Even I, a retail snob, purchased a Lagerfeld black-and-white banded turtleneck at H&M. Okay, it made me look like a gay priest, and granted it shrunk after the first washing, and is now being worn by my next door neighbor’s Schnauzer “Schnapps” to great affect at the local dog park. Ralph Lauren is launching (not lunching) at J.C. Penney. Cynthia Rowley is at Avon? Denim iconoclasts Chip & Pepper are selling their signature style to Premium Jeans. English designer Alice Temperley can blow air kisses to Isaac Mizrahi from LaGuardia while heading off via taxi to see Mossimo and Michael Graves at Target. Madonna and J Lo are old timers compared to recent bandwagoners for Macy’s, like Martha Stewart, Tim Gunn and Kenneth Cole. And now, if enough wasn’t enough, Sephora and Donna Karan have just announced that they are selling a “virtual” line to kid’s Web site phenomenon www.stardoll.com It’s just computer-generated pretend clothing, but for real money. Say what? That’s like trading your cow for magic beans. What’s going on? Designers everywhere are jumping ship.
It reminds me of that old commercial for breakfast cereal where this hungry kid isn’t getting enough vitamins and his frustrated mother exclaims, "What’s a mother to do?" Well, I’m not getting enough of my designer vitamins, so what’s a Diva to do?
Perhaps they forget a talented designer named Roy Halston (think hot pants, satin halter top gowns, disco, the '70s, and an embarrassing cameo on "The Love Boat," where your cruise director Julie, [Lauren Tewes] becomes a fashion model). Halston naively sold his name to J.C. Penney. (Listen up Ralph “Lipschitz” Lauren) The rest is, as they say, fashion history. Even Halston couldn’t get back into Studio 54 after that melee.
Perhaps some of our best designers are trying to beat the counterfeiters at their own game and are duping themselves. It’s understood. After all, there is Bud Light and Diet Pepsi, but it still doesn’t taste as good. Designing for department stores is not a recent innovation. In the '50s and '60s, the American consumer could purchase a Dior, Norell or Balenciaga at Orchbach’s or Bonwit Tellers, but let’s face facts; you could also purchase a covered wagon in those days, too. Still this fashion exodus is sort of a fashion lite concept--not as nice fabric, not as many stitches per inch, less detail and less design, but ultimately the same look, if not taste. Only your hairdresser will know for sure, and trust me he will. Once-exclusive designers of great repute have now co-opted themselves, the way that mainstream American teens has co-opted urban hip-hop culture, in an effort to "fit it," and to have "street cred,"-- yuck! Mainstreaming fashion may be laudable, but I wish designers would just sell last year’s line cheaper so that middle-class Americans could afford it.
Is it the worst thing in the world not to own an original, or to not be able to afford a designer label? Would I really want to buy an Armani suit at Sears? No. Would I want to purchase a Fendi handbag at Payless? No. Would anyone really want to pick up a Chanel at Chico’s? I hope not.
Here’s the real crime: there are so many great unknown designers, unfortunately their names will never see the light of day because Americans do not have the confidence, and cannot differentiate between great design and great designers. They can only rely on their ability to identify the names of a few great designers, which is sufficient to drive sales. Customers buy fashionable names, not fashionable clothing. American consumers buy brands or brand names. The truth…A rose by any other name….
A personal note to Todd: Todd dear, I will be heading to Old Navy to check you out, like Mr. Gable, I hope you will not disappoint me. Because "gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme what I cry for. You know you have the kind of clothing, I would die for, yes, you made me love you, yes…you."
--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger
Leave it to Switzerland to come up with a tech-savvy way to
completely brainwash retail customers. Zurich-based Barix AG creates IP audio
and recently developed a product specifically for New Balance retail stores
called SneakerRadio--an in-store radio station featuring custom advertising. So,
very soon, you'll walk into a New Balance retail store and have the privilege
of listening to great music along with messaging that, according to
SneakerRadio," has been proven to increase brand awareness and customer
recall of important marketing messages and can help increase sales through the
power of suggestion." This is subtlety known, of course, as brainwashing.
Thanks so much Barix.
Proving that wherever there's a market, there's a retailer
willing to cater to it, I present you with maternity bridal gowns. Yep, you
read me right, we're talking about bridal gowns for pregnant women. Retailers A Pea in the
Pod and Mimi Maternity recently announced their line of wedding dresses for
expectant mothers. Apparently, it's quite the trend and in order to serve this
growing demographic, the two retailers have decided to cash in. Not that I can
blame them.
But, really, women want to get married while pregnant? That just
seems uncomfortable and frankly, not very much fun. A pregnant wedding means
you don't get to enjoy any of the good parts of the wedding, well except for
cake, in which case, I would be all over that "I'm eating for two"
thing. But, there would be no champagne toasts or staying up all night dancing.
I have to wonder, is this actually true? Or have us normal women been getting married with child for a long time now and celebs doing it has simply made it socially acceptable, and therefore marketable? In any event, there's no point in questioning it. If celebrities are doing it, then by all means, let's find a way to make some money off of it. In our celeb-obsessed culture--trust me, I know what I'm talking about, I watch E! in absolutely disgusting quantities--following what the cool kids are doing is practically a national past time. Retailers are merely giving people what they want. And no one can hate on that.
I love it when retailers get it right. I love to see the “little guy,” the proverbial “underdog,” succeed. I guess I relate, and that’s a story I would like to tell today.
“Caravan,” a now successful store (actually two stores with a third opening shortly), was founded in 2005. Without a farthing to her name, let alone a down payment for a NY City store rental, and simply no capitol to stock a store, enterprising owner Claudine Gumbel simply operated her business out of a RV. That's right, a recreational vehicle. Her RV was loaded up will all sorts of designer goodies, and parked randomly throughout the city. In short, the store came to you. It promised exclusivity, a valuable commodity in New York, elsewhere too I imagine. The Caravan attracted young women who wanted to shop for a sweet little dress, or silky blouse on their lunch hours with the other girls in the office, but didn’t know where to go, let alone have time to shop during lunch. Shopping is, after all, practically a form of dieting these days. The Caravan became a cause celeb; a social destination; a special “girl’s only” treat during the grueling work week.
Owner Gumbel learned quickly what her customers wanted, and with her already sharp fashion sense, collected site-specific garments based on her customer’s demographics. Gumbel is a hard working, astute businessperson--a waif of a girl, petite, soft-spoken, charming and delectably delicious to look at. She could be Carrie Bradshaw’s doppelganger. Office parties were organized around the caravan’s arrival, sizes were called in advance with specific requests to the innovative Gumbel, who loaded up the truck accordingly. The Caravan was a success--often available for shopping parties, fundraising events and showers. Think of the brag factor around the water cooler, “Mercy, no I don’t have time to schlep to (you fill in the blank), my stylist is bringing me a few things to look at during my next coffee break. Do you want me to ask them to bring a few things for you?” Each week, Caravan’s Web site lists the neighborhoods the RV will be located, making each destination a special event, something special to share with your co-workers, something special to look forward to. It was an immediate and resounding success.
In the time it takes to parallel park in the city, Gumbel opened a store for those of us who aren’t accustomed to mobility. The store has a laid-back lounge feel, DJ booth and ample seating so that window shoppers and boyfriends in tow can rest and socialize. The store is available for private events. Why not hold your 27th birthday in a way cool store rather than your 5th floor studio walkup with rickety old folding chairs? Who knows, maybe your guests sans gift, can all chip in for something super special for you, and you can pick it out, change in the dressing room, and model it for them right there. You’ll be the belle of the ball. Not content with hiring commonly dull salespeople, the staff are really stylists in training, and are well versed in styling for the fashion challenged. It’s a brilliant strategic personnel maneuver! They enjoy dressing customers, and are happy to offer a second opinion. If you don’t see what you want, you need only to ask, the staff will do their best to get it. Gumbel applied her retail savvy and introduced men’s clothing into the mix. Now dreamy-eyed couples can shop together, or smart young women can help redress their sloppy, albeit cute, boyfriends in designer jeans and sexy knot tops to adorn their arms. Gumbel’s equally adorable husband Brian, no relation to the pompous newscaster, is a public relations entrepreneur and one of NY’s best dressed ones at that, thanks to his clever wife. It pays to advertise.
Caravan has some of the hottest, trendiest clothes in all of Manhattan. It’s mostly designer, and provides one of the most complimentary and eclectic mixes of clothing in the city. In this global economy, where fashion immigrates from all over the world, it’s not unusual to find key pieces of clothing from England, Sweden, France, Canada, Thailand, Spain, Denmark, Africa, Brazil, Norway, and even the good old USA. After all, NY is the nation’s melting pot. The store celebrates the world of fashion, and the world is larger than most retailers let on. If Caravan has it, it's smart.
Recently Caravan hosted a standing-room-only fashion show presentation at The Manhattan Pavilion for those of us not invited to the tent shows in Bryant Park (and there are many) for Fashion Week. A stroke of brilliance, as we could all boast to our colleagues that we were off to a fashion show. Love it! Customers were lined up half way down 19th Street. The complicated show went off without a hitch. Most interesting to note was that none of the clothing was over-priced, pretentious, phony-baloney couture. It was all ready-to-wear, aka street fashion. The collections held together seamlessly, demonstrating that everyone can be fashionable, and stay on budget. Models were not of the severe, pouty, constipated types one is accustomed to—many, in fact, proffering smiles that belied their enjoyment. Smiling at a fashion show? How scandalous. The audience ate it up! It was absolutely entrancing. Furthermore, love was in the air, as several ensembles were sent down the catwalk on models strolling hand in hand, just like real life. How cute is that? The vibe was perfect! Best of all, guests could place their orders right after the show. No need to bother with setting up appointments, fittings, the months-long wait for the couturier to produce or waiting for it to finally make its way to a major department store. It’s all available. Versatile designers like Vivienne Westwood, J. Lindeberg, H. Fredriksson and Fred Perry with their distinctive fashion vocabulary were well integrated into the show with designers like Social Atelier, Keep A Child Alive and Moods, who are comparatively slang designers, providing a hip, urbane and harmonious mix of well established, and the avant garde.
If you are not in the Metropolitan area and still want to shop, the caravan may not be traveling to your municipality, but you can shop from their Web site www.shopcaravan.com. For you other retailers who complain about the state of the economy, boo-hoo-hoo, and how the “big guys” are squeezing them out, boo-hoo-hoo, who wait for customers to come to them, or who seldom offer an event to lure customers in, take note. Shopping is fun, shopping is a form of entertainment. Caravan gets it!
--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger
Photo: By Kim Wiseley
Everybody's doing it. Literally. Retailers the world over
are finally giving consumers what they want--environmentally friendly
practices. From Wal-Mart to Cole Haan, eco-conscious store operations, products
and services are popping up everywhere there's an "open" sign.
Safeway kicked things off in the grocery sector by adding 20 percent biodiesel fuel
to their trucks from domestically manufactured virgin soybean oil. I knew that
stuff had to be good for something. Wal-Mart has a fleet of hybrid vehicles for
light-duty use and followed in Safeway's tracks by making 7,200 of its semi
tractor-trailer trucks 15 percent more fuel efficient, with plans to meet a
target of 25 percent efficiency.
The eco-friendly attitude isn't just happening in the United
States; U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer announced the opening of "eco-stores"
in Scotland. The new stores emit 95 percent LESS carbon dioxide and utilize
incredible technology like roof mounted sun pipes and wind catchers, as well as
generating hot water through heat from their refrigeration plant. Absolute genius!
The retailer has even released statements that say it plans to be carbon neutral by
2012. Five years ago, I'm not sure I (or the rest of the world) would have any
idea what that meant, but now I know it's a big deal. And retailers are a part
of the change.
Retailers are not only making a difference in the environment, they're making a difference in the way we do business. It's all pretty inspiring. Makes me want to buy some of those carbon offset certificates...how about you?
Photo: The Apple store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile features a green roof system from GreenGrid.
If you have gone shopping for toys lately, no doubt you have experienced the chaos--and empty shelves--currently ruling in many toy stores. Toy recalls, driven by unsafe, foreign manufacturing processes--at least 80 percent of the toys sold in the United States are made in China--have rendered millions of toys worthless and unsellable. Problems range from toxic lead paint to small magnets that come unattached and can be accidentally ingested.
In this country, big names, including Fisher-Price, Mattel and even Barbie are involved. Want to buy your little girl a Barbie Kitty condo for Christmas, or your boy a train set? Forget about it. And just in case you thought that this was a new situation, no way. Take a hard look at all those toys you have bought for kids over the past years [they have almost all been imported from China for more than a decade]. Do you really think the Chinese were using higher standards of safety in the past--and then went back to being unsafe? Those toys have been a danger all along, but the situation has only recently come to light. One report tells of a mother who collected up all her kids’ toys and put them in a closet until she could figure out how to determine if they were safe--or how to return them. Her kids are playing with rubber balls and knitting yarn--and the family dog.
The Chinese say they are taking steps to correct things, but parents are going to need a lot of reassurance when shopping this holiday season. Diva says look for wooden, all-natural toys and handcrafted and vintage items that were made in the United States in days long past--they can be a lot of fun [and collectibles too]. Or better yet, how about getting your kids an old-fashioned [but safe] book and reading it to them--“How The Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Retailers are working with the Chinese and will get the situation under control, but it will take time. The Chinese say that American firms caused the problem by always wanting things "cheaper and cheaper" [they say lead paint costs much less]. But all this year’s Christmas toy orders, which were placed many months ago, have already on ships sailing from China--and a Chinese Grinch is sitting on one of those smokestacks, threatening to steal Christmas--from retailers and kids.
--Diva
While women across the country get ready to stampede stores in search of the hottest fall fashions, men also have something to look forward to--especially if they are concerned about the environment: green drawers. Drawers as in underwear that is, made of eco-friendly bamboo.
Now bamboo is not something you think of as being comfy or huggable or sexy, but Donna Karan, designer for DKNY, is launching an underwear collection for men that is made of 70 percent bamboo and 30 percent cotton. The waistbands of the briefs will have a green stripe woven in for identification, and the company claims that these male intimates are antibacterial, deodorizing, breathable and have moisture-wicking properties. The collection will be featured at Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and DKNY stores and will range in price from $28 to $34 for undershirts and from $19.50 to $34 for bottoms.
Diva says, forget those dreadful Valentine’s Day and Holiday novelty undershorts with hearts and Santas, and buy your man bamboo briefs--so he can be green to the core.
--Diva
Think the Emmy's--airing Sept.16th, 8 p.m. on FOX--are all about checking out who's wearing and winning what? Wrong. Pay closer
attention and you'll notice that the Emmy's are actually an ideal opportunity
for retailers to captivate their market. At least, that's Macy's plan.
Well, Diva is planning her next trip to New York, and top of the to-do-list is the new musical “Walmartopia.” It’s playing at the Minetta Lane Theater in Greenwich Village [yes, that's actually off Broadway]. It seems Wal-Mart has found the New York location they have been looking for [or maybe not, as this production obviously does not have the retail giant’s blessings]. And no, this play is not a celebration of retail. It is described as a time-traveling musical and a hard-hitting satire--set in the future world of 2037, ruled by Wal-Mart--with a power-to-the-worker message. One reviewer calls it a “futuristic Norma Rae.” Yes, the little guy (actually gal) wins in the end. Want a ticket? Call 212-307-4100. Take opera glasses and a Wal-Mart smiley-face button! And, you knew it--the play opened on Labor Day. Diva can’t vouch for how long it will last--so go soon.
--Diva
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