Let Them Eat Cheesecake

With a spiraling luxury market, and a decided downturn in the ready-to-wear market, what is one of America’s most gifted designers left to do? If you are the talented Isaac Mizrahi, you start selling cheesecake. Well, we all have to eat.

These will not be your run-of-the-mill cheesecakes. These are designer cheesecakes, including a tartan plaid version for Christmas, and one he describes as “enrobed” in white chocolate, albeit dyed in signature red with navy plaid stripes. In spring, you can look forward to polka dots…”Obviously!” retorted Mizrahi. Ever prolific, he recently decided to make a cheesecake using goat cheese. Mizrahi reports…“It’s amazing. It sounds bad, but it is so good.” Baaaaa! Celebrity chefs are all the rage. It will sort of be like having Mizrahi in your kitchen when you bring out dessert for the in-laws and neighbors and boast that Isaac Mizrahi whipped this up…just for you…girlfriend!

Would I buy a Lagerfeld cheese log or Swedish meatballs from Diane Von Furstenberg? Probably not, but a cheesecake from Isaac…I’d go for it. To promote his exclusive line of cheesecakes, Mizrahi is even getting his own show on QVC called "Isaac Mizrahi Live!" Rest assured that while Mizrahi will be designing a large range of items for QVC, he professes the most excitement about designing couture cuisine.

At age 10, he says he was browsing through recipes and became intrigued by the word “sauté.” “I liked the way it sounded…sauté, sauté, sauté!” Mizrahi says, adding that he used to spend weekends cooking peppers and mushrooms in a pan until they were mushy. (He obviously didn’t see "Julie & Julia.”) “Call my mother. This is what I did on Saturday mornings,” reports Mizrahi. I believe you, but there I was watching reruns of “Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies"--my wasted youth.

Mizrahi’s show will begin airing in December, eight hours a month to start, the company says. According to the WSJ, the show is part pitch, part reality television and "will follow Mizrahi as he pitches items like a $200 handbag or $80 shoes, while he engages in his other activities, riffs extemporaneously about his life (he might even sing if coerced) and takes questions from callers," i.e., real people. He also reportedly paints his toenails orange. Well you have to do something while those cheesecakes bake.

The resurgence of Mizrahi, a designer known as much for his charisma as his clothing, is tied to the many changes sweeping the fashion industry. With cost-conscious conglomerates increasingly in control, many designers are searching for ways to broaden their sales beyond the high-fashion customer. At the same time, the growth of collaborations with mid-American retailers, the rise of cable television, the birth of reality television and the Internet have created a surge of opportunities…like cheesecakes.

Is it a comeback? Mizrahi--like a phoenix--has had multiple incarnations. Now 47, Mizrahi seems to be having his moment in the QVC sun again. He already designs for the Liz Claiborne brand--while sales are struggling amid the recession, retailers say he’s added buzz to a line that’s been considered frumpy for years. He’s hosting a fashion reality TV competition on the Bravo network, “The Fashion Show,” which is a “Project Runway” wannabe, and he has been a frequent guest judge on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” Two seasons ago, he resumed showing a high-end line under his own name at New York’s fashion week. And any day now, he’s scheduled to open his first boutique on Madison Avenue.

Remember when Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche used to gather around their kitchen and trash men over a chocolate-covered cheery cheesecake? I miss the '80s. Isaac, if you're listening, you’re welcome to come over anytime and we can dish Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford and Michael Kors--providing you have a cheesecake in hand.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

 

Payless Gets...Fierce?

What’s the first thing that a young fashion designer should do after winning a national television competition and participating in his first New York Fashion Week? If you were thinking team up with Payless ShoeSource…you are right! (Probably not what most people might immediately think of…but hey, to each their own.)

After winning season four of Bravo’s “Project Runway,” fashion designer Christian Siriano (whose habit of saying “Fierce!” was simultaneously entertaining and annoying—if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google it to see for yourself) debuted his first-ever shoe collection on the runway yesterday at his ready-to-wear show at New York Fashion Week.

Siriano has expanded his offerings with the Christian Siriano for Payless designer label--his footwear and handbag collection designed to complement his RTW line. The new Payless collection will be exclusively available at Payless stores and Payless.com in September.

Siriano's Fall '09 RTW collection takes its inspiration from the natural beauty of the Egyptian landscape, and his shoe collection features five shoe styles--with names like Slither, Saunter, SheDevil, Sand Strap and Strut—also created with Egyptian inspiration.

Personally, I was never a fan of Siriano’s designs (at least the ones that were showcased on “Project Runway”). Call me old fashioned, but I prefer clothing I can actually wear places other than a costume party. But, the shoe collection could be an interesting and profitable venture for the designer—and it is definitely a smart move by Payless. Partnering with a semi-celebrity designer will certainly catch the attention of shoppers—if only for a moment, then the designs will have to do the rest to entice them to buy. The shoe retailer has already partnered with several other guest designers in their quest to “democratize fashion and design,” which sounds like a good call to me. The more inexpensive shoes and handbags the merrier. Now that’s fierce.

--Jessie Bove

Stephen Sprouse Redeux

Truth be told, Stephen Sprouse fell under my radar when he rose in prominence in the early- to mid-’80s. This much I recall: he was a golden child and wildly talented. He was best known for using a day-glow inspired color palette, and managed to fuse a diverse rage of fashion idioms like punk, techno, geometrics, retro, Memphis, graffiti, cyber-glam, East Village chic and agit-prop in a psychotic and glorious mélange. He helped define the 1980s. He was the darling of the “in crowd” and hung out with Halston, Warhol, Billy Idol, Duran Duran, Steven Meisel and Debra Harry—the “fast crowd.

Temperament trumped talent; there were the infamous bouts of erratic behavior, showing up days late for appointments, canceling major fashion shows the day before, moving his flagship store several times, poor management of the press and business—and despite the appearance of success, filing for bankruptcy. People who knew him loved him, but he was exhausting. His candle burned at both ends. While he worked consistently, he all but disappeared until his early death at age 50 from heart failure and lung cancer in 2004.

Thanks to a recent retrospective, young people rediscovering the ’80s (I feel so old!) and the bestselling "The Stephen Sprouse Book," by Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha (with a foreword by Tama Janowitz), which was released by Rizzoli Press, he has re-emerged as relevant, hip and very apropos. His time has come again. If you still don’t get it, you will see Spouse’s imprinture referenced in many designer collections, including, but not limited to Marc Jacobs. Spouse’s fashion vocabulary is articulate, counter-cultural, edgy and joyful. If you are not familiar with his work, his influence and his ability to set a trend for this decade, here are a few photos from Louis Vuitton, which is currently devoting all their windows on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street to pay homage.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

The New Male Sex & The City?

Out at the mall the other day, I noticed an interesting trend--men shopping with groups of other men. Think Sex & The City, only instead of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, you've got Carl, Sam, Randy and Charles. According to industry analysts, we better get used to it. Men are no longer deferring the shopping to their wives, girlfriends, best friends or mothers; they're doing it all themselves.

In fact, a recent article in the Chicago Sun Times notes that during the economic lull, men are coming out and shopping more than ever before. An unstable work environment apparently motivates men to start thinking more about their wardrobe. Looking good becomes connected to being successful. Well, duh. Carrie Bradshaw could have told them that back in the early '90s. But, at least they're coming around.

A study by the NPD Group found that 52.4 percent of men planned to spend $100-499 on clothes for the holidays, compared to only 50.8 percent of women.

Retailers are now starting to look at the male demographic as one with some serious spending power. The Sun-Times lists the following mind-boggling statistic: In 1975, men only purchased 25 percent of all available men's products, while women bought 75 percent of their goods. What?! Today, those numbers have been reversed--men are now purchasing 75 percent of their own products. Wow, what a difference 30 years can make.

In addition, more men than ever before are dialing up their friends to accompany them on shopping trips (think girls day at the mall, but with the boys).

"Men are finding friends--they don't have to be romantic friends--who make shopping a social occasion. This is a new phenomenon," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group.

I love this! Why shouldn't men be empowered to purchase the items they care about, especially when it comes to their clothing? It's exciting to see this demographic growing, along with the cultural shift of men hanging out with friends at the mall.

Remember the days when your boyfriend would staunchly sit on one of those uncomfortable benches in the mall, continually checking his watch? Not any more--instead there may be a fight over having to leave the mall before it closes...

What's your take on this shopping shift? Why do you think men are more focused on how they look today, than they did 30 years ago? Know a retailer that's catering to this market in a really big way? Tell us about it here!

--Heather Strang

You Are Where You Shop

"You are what you eat." We've all heard that one before, right? In which case, I'm a tofu almond milk salad, but that's a whole other story. This begs the question--are we also where we shop, particularly in the political arena? Since when did politics and retail align? Apparently, the two are more closely aligned than I ever could have imagined.

And Utica, N.Y.-based Zogby Interactive has the proof. In a recent poll of more than 24,000 voters, the firm found that the political status of shoppers was reflected in the stores they chose to patronize.

Confused yet? I know I was. Until I read the entire press release. Consider the following: shoppers who frequented Wal-Mart were more likely to vote for John McCain (and George W. Bush, for that matter). For the 2008 election, 58 percent of Wal-Mart shoppers voted for McCain, while 41 percent voted for Obama.

The survey also found that Wal-Mart shoppers felt terrorism and keeping the military strong were the United States primary issues, while chosing the "the need for change" as one of the lowest concerns.

Who knew where we shopped could say so much about who we are? 

John Zogby had this to say about the fascinating phenomena, "We are where we shop. Our 2008 results re-affirm that store shopping choices align with political ideology. Shoppers at Wal-Mart and Sears are clearly more conservative than the electorate at-large. On the left are Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's. Elections are decided in the middle, and Obama did that by winning Target, Costco, J.C. Penney and Marshall's by double-digits. If you want one indicator of how Obama pulled off an Electoral College landslide, look at Sears and Wal-Mart, where he significantly cut the Republican advantage Bush held over Kerry in 2004."

One question then, what does it say when you shop at Target, Ross and IKEA? Someone at Zogby should get back to me on this. Incidentally, Target shoppers voted for Obama 63 percent to McCain's 36 percent...

So, if we are where we shop, then we might all do well to think (as I am) about what our shopping choices say about who we are as individuals. Do you believe our shopping choices are closely aligned with our political beliefs? What do you think of the Zogby survey results? Leave your comments here!

--Heather Strang

Teenagers Save the Holiday Shopping Season

The holidays are coming! And with them a host of hand-wringing and anxiety about what the outcome will be. Studies are being conducted, predictions are coming out daily and, in general, speculation is everywhere.

Most of it, however, is pretty bleak (which, by the way, isn't helping--so knock it off!). But, I was thrilled to track down some good news regarding the holiday spending season.

Junior Achievement recently released their 2008 Teen Holiday Spending poll, and found that 76 percent of teens plan to spend a whole lot more this year than they did in 2007 on holiday gifts. Hooray! Finally, something we can all be happy about. And it gets better.

Forty-seven percent of teens said they planned to spend at least $100 on gifts, which is a 4 percent increase from last year. Now, some of the negative Nellies--that's a technical term--out there might think that the kids are all-talk, and will instead squander their parents' hard-earned money. Oh, how wrong they are (and you do know who you are). These kiddos have money themselves.

While multiple responses were used, 87 percent of teens did plan to use their own money, with 49 percent using money from their parents, 19 percent using a parent's debit/credit card (who are these crazy parents?!) and 16 percent using their own debit/credit card. Turns out that job at Dairy Queen pays pretty well after all.

Unfortunately, though, our worries do still rub off on our kids. Forty-eight percent reported feeling concerned about the U.S. economy. And who can blame them?

The fantastic news is they're still planning on spending money for the holiday season. Looks like we could take a lesson from our kids these days, eh? I say, we all pretend like we're 16, and go out there and spend some serious cash for the holidays. Who's with me?!

Leave it to teenagers to provide us with increased retail sales for the holidays. Gotta love 'em!  Do you have some good predictions about the upcoming holiday season, or have an opinion about teens' retail spending? Leave your comments here.

--Heather Strang

A Fashion Smashin’ Season--Filled with Palin Mania

Now that fall is here, a girl’s interest turns to fashion; right? And, from the Lifetime made-for-TV movie, “Coco Chanel,” which aired last weekend, to the recent Bryant Park fashion shows, to the Sarah Palin McFashion trend spin-offs, we’re suddenly awash in clothes and shoes and swept-up hairdos. Retailers are salivating. Diva is thrilled.

Republicans and Democrats, alike, are raving about Palin’s saucy pumps. Turns out most of her footwear is from Naughty Monkey [why is everything she does always about animals?] produced by House of Brands Inc. of San Diego. When one TV commentator referred to her as a “babe,” maybe he knew what he was talking about. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, the shoemaker says Naughty Monkey footwear is targeted to “women in their early-20s, who go clubbing. “ A company spokesperson says the brand is a “very edgy, very hip, very street brand.” [Maybe there’s a lot more about Palin we don’t know. After all, we thought she was a “hockey mom,” with a passel of kids. Who knew she had a hip streak?]

And those glasses. Palin is a dead-ringer for the actress Tina Fey, star of the movie, "Baby Mama," who also wears glasses and sports a range of similar hairdos. According to the WSJ report, Palin’s specs are by the designer Kazuo Kawasaki (style 704, color 34) and from Italee Optics Inc. How does she manage to find all these hip brands, while isolated in Alaska. Have Saks and Neiman’s snuck in stores there, while no one was watching? (Actually, Palin is reported to shop often at Out of the Closet, an Anchorage-based secondhand clothing store, where she buys Juicy Couture and Escada.) And that hairdo--very late '60s--is already instigating a rush to beauty salons and wig shops.

Well, the fashion press is all a twitter. They are as happy as a pig in S_ _ _ [excuse Diva's french] to have the women of America fixate on a fashion role model [and move past Paris Hilton]--one who has somewhat of a sense of fashion style. And Estée Lauder is probably already at work on new lipsticks: Pitbull Plum and Piggy Pink.

Diva is happy to see a renewed interest in fashion, and without debating the hairdo and shoes, Palin’s trend-conscious, yet business-appropriate, outfits do set a good example. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more working/business women dressing that way? Or, sigh—like Madame Coco? “Well-turned-out” is the expression. [Let’s just hope that all those dead animals hanging on the walls of her office that show up in every camera pan for on-site interviews, don’t start a trend as well. Dead animals are definitely not cool!]

Last thought: Well, it seems McCain--after bashing Obama for being a celebrity--rushed out to get a celeb of his own. When Palin is with McCain, the crowd turnouts are in the thousands, a big improvement from the couple hundred he was attracting previously. Seems Americans want their candidates--camera ready and fashion savvy! And seems McCain out-celebed Obama, for sure.

--Diva

Europeans Love American Retail

Back in the good ole days, Americans would plan lavish vacations to Europe, returning with overstuffed luggage filled with high-fashion clothes and other goodies. However, with the rise of the Euro, those days are all but a distant memory. Instead, Europeans are flocking to the states to get "bargain" deals at Apple, Armani and Ralph Lauren.

They're even mocking us by writing songs about it. Heard Estelle's latest cut, "American Boy?" Well, I have. Europeans are blatantly nabbing our "discounted" goods (hey--it's still full price for us!) and American boys, all the while laughing at our economic silliness. I don't care much about the boys, but I do care about having to cancel my trip to Paris because it now costs almost double what it would if I had traveled there, oh say, eight years ago. 

1 Euro currently runs about $1.50 to $1.60, making the United States a hot vacation spot for Europeans. And selfish reasons aside (I'll just have to see the Eiffel Tower some other time!), it's not a bad deal for retailers. If Americans aren't out shopping in droves, someone should be. Who better than our European pals? They've got fabulous accents, class and let's face it; they're a nice accessory to the shopping scene.

New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are all reporting increases in European travelers and retailers seem to be benefiting. In a recent article in Chicago Business, a European traveler had this to say, "We came here because of the strong Euro. It's great for us...We find the USA for us is now cheap, so we buy."

I have to admit, the concept resonates with me as well: cheap = buy. Absolutely! And if they want to throw money at Apple (one of the most popular locales according to Chicago Business), Hilfiger or even Bloomingdale's--by all means do. Personally, I think this is one way the sluggish dollar is working in our favor.

What do you think about the increase in foreign travelers to the United States for shopping purposes? Would you rather be in Paris (with me!) basking in the strength of the dollar? Or does it matter? Leave your thoughts here.

--Heather Strang

College Kids Give Their Top Picks For Socially Responsible Brands

The green lifestyle may have been spearheaded by the boomers of America (think Al Gore), but it's the next generation (think college kids or those ranging in age from 18-30) that are making eco-friendly living a priority and using their cash to support their beliefs. A recent survey by New York-based Alloy Media & Marketing found that 41 percent of students intend to spend their money only with "socially responsible" brands.

First, let's be clear about what the term "socially responsible" means. It's an often used buzz word that typically trails behind terms such as eco-friendly, green living, etc. For the purposes of the above survey, socially responsible companies employed the following tactics:

-Regularly/consistently donate money to a charity/cause.
-Use eco-friendly business practices.
-Fair labor practices.
-Social messages incorporated into advertising (Nike is sooo good at this).
-Supporting diversity in the workplace.

Yep, that sounds about right. But, I would also add that a company's core values and mission statement would be slanted in a more socially responsible way. Companies that typically fall into the "socially responsible" category often make sure that their corporate culture is aligned with living responsibly both professionally and as a corporate entity. This focus trickles down to employees and then, customers. It's a rather fabulous way to do business, don't you think?

In Alloy's survey, students went on to identify their top picks for socially responsible retailers. Check out their choices below:

-Nike: Shoes & Apparel
-Toyota: Automotive
-Yoplait: Food & Beverage (this one took me by surprise, but the company does donate 10 cents to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every returned yogurt lid...)
-Target: General Retail
-Burt's Bees: Personal Care

Nike and Burt's Bees are a given--their products and company culture embody social responsibility. Who would you nominate as a socially responsible general retailer? Food and beverage company? Leave your nominations here!

--Heather Strang

How Not to Get a Job in Retail

Q: There are 11 Federal holidays, which one do you want to take off, Christmas or Thanksgiving? Naturally, it’s a trick question; everyone who’s ever worked in retail knows that stores never close, even if there was an apocalypse. You don’t get any holidays off.

One of the latest trends in retail is the new “catch you off guard” questioning technique where a bored interviewer will pepper the same ol’ questions like “What are your weaknesses?” with a jazzy, “If you knew had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?" Correct response…continue to show up for work on time, and provide excellent customer service.

The economy is tight, and the job marker is tighter, so much so that graduates of Yale’s Law School are taking summer jobs at Abercrombie and Fitch. If you think I’m joking after the battery of psychological testing, and handwriting analysis of your penmanship on your application, you’ll be subject to the newly appointed practice of asking ridiculous questions in the name of “thorough interviewing.” Granted, nothing replaces real communication, but let’s face it with the rate of attrition in retail, store managers often need to cut to the chase.

It’s not a radical new trend, Microsoft’s been known for years for its off-the-wall interview riddles, which were as ponderous as Rubik’s Cube, but now this gorilla questioning is hitting the mainstream employer market. Interviewers say it’s necessary to throw candidates for a loop to catch them with their guard down. There’s also the argument that kooky questions force prospective employees to think quickly and creatively, and that assessing how well they do this gives you insight into their future job performance. Does anyone really need to think that quickly or creatively to sell a “Princess in Training” T-shirt at Baby Gap?

Here are a few more questions you need to be prepared to answer…

-If you were a type of food, what type of food would you be?
-Whoopie Goldberg and Elizabeth Hasellback enter the store at the same time, who do you greet first?
-If you could compare yourself with any animal, which would it be, and why? 
-See this pen? You have 5 minutes to sell it to me.
-If you could sell one of our Bed, Bath & Beyond halogen lamps to a famous historical figure, who would it be?
-During a fire in the mall, what would you do first, cash out your cash register and promptly drop off the contents to security, or direct customers to the nearest exit?
-If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
-See this pen you lamely tried to sell me? If you put it in you pocket and accidently took it home, and didn’t return it the next day, is that stealing?

In a recent article for BNET “Do Bizarre Interview Questions Serve a Purpose?" C.C . Holland cites three experts in the field. John Hollon, who recently wrote about the topic on workforce management, thinks the premise is bogus. “What kind of insight into a person are you going to get if they say if they would rather be the Human Torch than be Plastic Man? I can hardly imagine a serious interviewer listening to something like that with a straight face.” Maren Hogan at Fistful of Talent thinks these bizarre questions have their origins in power, ignorance or laziness. Joshua Letourneau at RecruitingBlogs says the use of such questions indicates the interviewer’s “IQ rivals that of a prairie dog.”

My opinion, when being glib trumps talent I’ll call it a day. I think I’d rather hear about a candidate’s relevant past experience than which is their favorite TV show, “The Bachelorette” or “Meet The Press.” 

What do you think?

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger