****
International Herald Tribune
14 Saturday-Sunday, September 29-30, 2007 Fashion
Les Copains Tod’s takes
offers intrigue the high road
t is one thing to be a fashion house with an artistic vision nder a video sky filled with swaying trees or winging
I and wildly creative clothing whose impact can be seen for
years to come.
U birds, Tod’s accessories were presented with a hint of
romance to their sporty spirit. And so it was with the clothes
But it is no less important to be able to create clothing that collection of special pieces from the American designer
can sell, and sell well. That elusive formula was found at Les Derek Lam.
Copa ins, where well-cut clothing and interesting knits A brief polo shirt grown down as a cute dress was matched
combined to form a show full of wearable yet intriguing by a version with a more feminine shape to the collar. That
clothing. The collection kept to an overall palette of neutral essential street wear, the trench coat, was chopped at the
colors with a bit of orange sherbet and shimmering gold hemline and named ‘‘Corso,’’ or ‘‘street’’ in Italian. Among
mixed in to spice things up. the standout pieces was a fitted denim jacket to go with
The clothing focused on the graphic impact and power of shorts or Tod’s shapely jeans.
sharp lines. They were seen in a patchwork quilt effect on Bag companies have taken to baptizing their latest deliver-
white pantsuits, black-and-white zebra stripes on tops or by ies, so a new, soft and squishy shape in python or calf and
mixing opaque and transparent fabrics on a sundress. with braided handles is called ‘‘Goa.’’ If there is a touch of the
The daywear was the real winner in this show, while the hippie in the ruched sides, this Indian inspiration was hippie
finale of black dress and harsh gold knits took a wrong turn de luxe.
by moving away from the distinctive style of the rest of the A general upgrading offered the iconic Tod’s pebble sole
collection and turning it into something a bit more . . .well, loafers in crocodile and in a rainbow of colors. An accent on
generic. purple this season went from glamorous little clutches to
— Jessica Michault roomy bags. And to prove that Tod’s is moving upscale — so
are the heels. A company known for its sporty flatties put a
thick high-ish heel on display, but still, as Tod’s president,
Diego Della Valle, put it: ‘‘In our spirit.’’
— Suzy Menkes

MAX MAR A

Risks pay off

The Tod’s designer
at Max Mara Derek Lam offers
the ‘‘Corso’’ short
trench, right, and
ax Mara, stalwart standby for well-made coats and the squashy ‘‘Goa’’
M tailored suits, decided to take some risks with its
spring/summer 2008 show. Taking a page from the Japanese
handbag, below,
with braided
BR IONI
handbook of deconstructing wardrobe staples, the design handles.
team turned traditional men’s suiting and the iconic trench
coat into form-fitting bustiers, voluminous handkerchief-
hem skirts and strapless asymmetrical dresses.
Brioni’s
Other Asian inspiration included oversized koi fish out-
lined in sparkles across roomy translucent T-shirts, and the
‘‘a rms’’ of the trench coats wrapped tight around outfits’
womanly grace
waists to form modern-day obi.
Picking up on this season’s love of all things plastic, Ma x mong all the prints and drapes on the Milan run-
Mara also showed both a raincoat and skirts in a transpar-
ent Saran Wrap-like material. While evening wear stayed
A ways, there was an underlying sense of simplicity.
Br ion i picked up that vibe in an all-white collection,
sporty, its only nod to femininity was the cloying satin col- where a simple dress with a pleated skirt that is eleg-
ors of sugar-sweet pink and a frosting-ice blue on boxy pa- antly tucked though the waistband expressed the wo-
jama suits worn with clunky rubber-heeled shoes in a manly grace that is taking over from girly looks for
matching satin fabric. spring/summer 2008. — Suzy Menkes
LES COPAINS — Jessica Michault
Photographs by Chris Moore/Karl Prouse

Department store shopping

By Robert Galbraith
MILAN
fter years of tough trading, de-

A partment stores are begin-

ning to reap the benefits of re-
structuring and a tighter
focus on the luxury end of the market.
And one of those benefits has been an
increased interest from prospective
buyers.
‘‘Many department stores are find-
ing ways to reinvent themselves to be- NOVEMBER 28/29
come more compelling to consumers,’’ MOSCOW
said Darrell Rigby, head of the Global
Retail practice for the Boston-based
consulting firm Bain & Co. ‘‘Those THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
chains that have not yet made the tran- WILL HOLD ITS SEVENTH ANNUAL LUXURY BUSINESS CONFERENCE
sition are seen as improvement oppor-
tunities and potential acquisitions.’’ AT THE RITZ-CARLTON, MOSCOW ON NOVEMBER 28TH & 29TH. SUZY
Macy’s, the biggest U.S. department MENKES, THE IHT’S RENOWNED FASHION EDITOR, WILL
store operator, is being perceived as
one such target. Its attempt to integrate holding company and the French su-
GIVE THE OPENING ADDRESS AT MOSCOW 2007: SUPREME LUXURY
the Marshall Field’s chain, which it permarket group Auchan to take con- AND WILL BE JOINED BY AN ILLUSTRIOUS LINE-UP OF LEADERS AND
bought last year, may not be working, trol of the La Rinascente chain. KEY DECISION-MAKERS FROM THE WORLD OF FASHION AND LUXURY.
and its recent sales figures have not At both chains, Borletti intends to
been strong. In May, for example, emulate the success that he believes the
Macy’s sales dropped 3.3 percent; other British department stores like Harrods,
chains had increases. Selfridges and Harvey Nichols have
POWERFUL PARTICIPATION FROM:
On Sept. 14, the company share price had, even to the appointment of the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
rose 4 percent following rumors that former Selfridges chief executive, Vit- ANGELA AHRENDTS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BURBERRY
private equity firms were interested in torio Radice, to manage Rinacente. “De- BRENDA ERDMANN HAGERT Y
buying it. partment stores are no longer just about BERNARD ARNAULT CHAIRMAN & CEO, LVMH
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
In contrast, the recent story of the product,’’ Borletti said. ‘‘The sur- MOËT HENNESSY LOUIS VUITTON
WORLDWIDE EVENTS
Barneys New York, the prestigious de- roundings, service and creating a shop- MARCELLO BOTTOLI CEO, SAMSONITE CORPORATION
partment store brand that began life as ping experience is very important.” MICHAEL BURKE CEO, FENDI TEL +44 20 7510 5707
a cut-rate men’s store in 1923, has been Alessandra Gritti, managing director EMAIL bhagerty@iht.com
YVES CARCELLE CHAIRMAN AND CEO, LOUIS VUITTON
very different. at the Milan-based Tamburi Invest- WEB www.IHTLuxury.com
IGOR CHAPURIN DESIGNER
In 2004 the Jones Apparel Group ment Partners, one of the financial
bought Barneys for $397 million; on partners in the Printemps acquisition, JOHN DEMSEY GROUP PRESIDENT,
SPONSORED BY:
Sept. 7, it sold the 25-store chain for points out that part of the interest in THE ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES INC.
$942.3 million — much more than the store was its real estate holdings, ALIONA DOLETSKAYA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VOGUE RUSSIA
twice what it originally paid — to not just its potential retail successes. MARK DUNHILL PRESIDENT, ALFRED DUNHILL
Istithmar, an investment company con- ‘‘Trying to get more value out of the TOM FORD DESIGNER
trolled by the Dubai government. The real estate was part of the reason for in-
transaction was the culmination of a vesting in the deal,’’ she said. LAURENCE GRAFF C H A I R M A N , G R A F F D I A M O N D S
late summer bidding war that also in- Gritti says it also was the prospects FAWAZ GRUOSI PRESIDENT, DE GRISOGONO
volved the Japanese clothing retailer Two of Europe’s largest department for developing luxury in the stores that AERIN LAUDER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,
Fast Retailing. stores, Printemps in Paris, top, and La appealed to her firm. “We could see CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ESTÉE LAUDER
Istithmar has said it sees Barney’s as Rinascente in Italy, have been taken over that in a short time it would be possible
by the Borletti Group, which hopes to JULIEN MACDONALD DESIGNER
a “unique global asset” and that it in- to reallocate the spaces and focus on
tended “to grow the company in inter- capitalize on their luxury reputations. luxury. In such a prime location, that is GILLES MENDEL DESIGNER & CEO, J. MENDEL
national markets.” very important,” she said. MICHELE NORSA CEO & GENERAL MANAGER, FERRAGAMO
Rigby says the U.S. Census retail fig- one,’’ he said. ‘‘But hypermarkets and ‘‘Luxury department stores have ten- BRUNO SÄLZER CEO, HUGO BOSS
ures offer a snapshot of what the global specialty stores soon took over many ded to do better than traditional ones,’’ DENIS SIMACHEV DESIGNER
department store sector has faced in areas of their business. That is why the Rigby said. ‘‘The key to success is con- OLGA SLOUTSKER PRESIDENT, WORLD CLASS COMPANY
recent years. department stores have had to rethink stant innovation — improving not just
ROUSTAM TARIKO FOUNDER, RUSSIAN STANDARD
In 1992, U.S. department store sales their strategy.” the merchandise, but the information
totaled $177 billion, or 11 percent of all In 2006 the French retail giant PPR systems, merchandise flows and store SIDNEY TOLEDANO PRESIDENT & CEO,
non-automotive retail sales. Sales sold Printemps’s 18 stores, including experience to sell the lifestyle prom- CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURE
peaked at $232 billion in 2000 but, by the flagship on Paris’s Boulevard ised by the brand.’’ FRANCOIS LE TROQUER GENERAL MANAGER,
2006, they had fallen to $212 billion — Haussmann, to the Borletti Group and Also, he added, stores must be able to CARTIER, RUSSIA
just 6 percent of all non-automotive re- Rreef, a Deutsche Bank real estate distinguish themselves from their com- DONATELLA VERSACE DESIGNER
tail sales and a decline of $20 billion. management company, for ¤1.075 bil- petitors, saying that Neiman Marcus is
Where did those sales go? From 2000 lion, or $1.52 billion. an example of such a success.
to 2006, specialty clothing and accessor- “PPR has concentrated its energies While the new owners of Barneys
ies stores grew from $168 billion to $215 on the luxury brands of the group. It have said they are planning to expand
billion, an increase of $47 billion. was happy to sell to us because it abroad, Borletti said is not ruling out CONVENED BY:
Maurizio Borletti, part owner and knows we will be able to focus more ef- such expansion for Printemps or Rinas-
manager of two European chains, Prin- fectively on Printemps retail strategy cente but added that he is aware of the
temps in France and La Rinascente in and repositioning the department risks. “It is not easy to extend the brand
Italy, says that department stores must stores,” Borletti said. outside the home market,” he says.
forget their past if they are going to Earlier, in March 2005, Borletti’s “The risk is that you adapt to the local
prosper. “The traditional department group and its real estate partner, Pirelli environment so much that you lose
store tried to sell everything to every- RE, had paid ¤888 million to the Fiat your identity and damage the image.”