Fashion Notebook

Lesssons In Branding: Is Vera Wang the Next Martha Stewart?

Vera Wang, a high-end designer who has made a name for herself over the past two decades creating wedding gowns (with price tags to match, and photo'ed, right), is now opening her own wedding registry—a first in the designer market. Which kind of surprises us, and then, eh, not so much, and then we're all like: "Hey why did no one think of this before?!"

(Full disclosure: It was a late night, and stayed up party with the Cuervo people waaay past our already respectably late bedtime, so if we seem a little dazed today, it's not you, or Vera for that matter. It's us, sweetcakes.)

Anyhow... back to the relevance. VeraWangonWeddings.com will allow not only custom registries for engaged couples, but also a breakdown of runway trends, e-commerce, couples quizzes and wedding planning ideas from Wang herself.

But the bridal registry and e-commerce site is only the tip of the branding iceberg for Wang. In a series of moves similar to those of the one-woman empire orchestrated by love-her-or-hate-her-you-betta- respect-her Martha Stewart, the designer has recently expanded into diverse categories such as bedding, home goods and stationary. Additionally, Wang launched a collection for Kohl's stores late last year.

"Our authoritative position in bridal and bridal registry has allowed us to leverage this [consumer] trust into a lifestyle brand," said Wang. "The next logical step is to capitalize on our relationship with the client over the course of their lives. Our objective is to continue to grow our lifestyle product offering and keep pace with the evolving needs of the consumer."

Wang added that, moving forward, her company is exploring expansion into furniture, decorative fabrics, rugs, lighting and even a Wang-branded line of paint. Now we just won't know who's jungle green to trust when we repaint the bathroom: Vera's or Ralph's?

But what's to stop Wang from becoming like others who burst into multi-category expansions like Bill Blass or Halston, and getting less than sterling results? (Take "less than sterling" to mean abominable here, dears.) Well, apparently, it's because, as Dylan used to croon in that nails-on-a-chalkboard voice: The times they are a-changin'. And so are consumers and designers, y'all!

"We're at a different time for both consumers and designers; and I think Vera is really capitalizing on the ability to do both high and low in the design realm," said Wendy Liebman, CEO of WSL Retail, New York. "The level of sophistication and level of exposure of shoppers has changed and that acceptance, through what's gone on with H&M's designer collaborations, has really opened a door."

For Liebman, Wang's strategy makes sense and she doesn't seem to be stretching the bounds of her brand potential. "The expansion into bridal registry is a logical one, and the home goods are the same . . . Certainly her work with Kohl's appears to be working," said Liebman. "When you look at what Bill Blass or Halston did, versus what Martha or Vera are doing now, you've got a convergence of a smarter shopper and a smarter designer."

Yes, yes, all well and good. And we think V might actually pull it off.

But if her marketing folks are reading this, please, please let us make one wish for how she rolls out home goods, particularly kitchen appliances. Forget the Today Show and get Ms. Wang's face on Food Network's "Paula's Party." We're salivating at the proposition of having Paul Deen (photo, left) do a wedding cake episode with Wang brought on as creative consultant, and having Deen shout out: "We're making weddings today, y'all, and I've brought along my good friend, hot cutter, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, howit creature... Oh whatever y'all, it's fashion designer Vera Wang!" The episode practically writes itself.

This is a sure-fire way to sell Wang, and her image, unequivocally to the lucrative Middle America and mass markets.

Financial Desk: Have a Cigar, Mr. Frankfort, Coach Sales Rise 19% in Q3

It's good to be Lew Frankfort. 

The Coach CEO today announced that third quarter sales had risen 19%, to $744.5 million, and profits rose 8% to $162.4 million, despite an economic slowdown in the North American market that has shaken the retail industry, and been the scape goat for much recent poor financial performance.

"We were pleased with our performance, especially in light of the worsening retail climate in the U.S.," Frankfort said, in a conference call with analysts this morning. "Overall, Coach's quarterly performance reflected the strength of the Coach franchise and the continued out-performance of the U.S. handbag and accessory category as compared to overall retail sales."

And while the macroeconomic landscape is still too murky for Mr. Frankfort to crystal ball fiscal 2008 performance, he did reveal that he expects to post $3.18 billion in sales for fiscal 2007 (which closes in June—you know, screwy fashion financial calendar), a more than 20% increase that will lift earnings per share to an estimated $2.06.

But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Frankfort also said that the strong quarter reflects also "the critical balance provided by our multi-channel and international business model," which, of course, means that overseas sales were a significant factor, particularly in the Asian market. More telling on the domestic front was the department store weakness, where sales grew only 5% for Coach, versus a total revenue increase of 15% across all channels.

Frankfort attributed the growth, first and foremost, to the company's product, bound together with the "brand proposition" of Coach (read: something of perceived quality, for a range of price points), as well as the company's "broad and loyal  consumer franchise." OK, whatevs Lew, basically you owe the success to having products people want at prices they can still afford, or think they can, for now.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see how this whole recession thing shakes out, but if we had to call it earlier, we'd say that Coach looks to be one of the brands that will weather the storm, and perhaps even make a little bit of money in the process.

There's also some speculation, per WWD, that Frankfort might be getting ready to launch into the women's ready-to-wear business, big time, after poaching a series of designers from the house o' Marc Jacobs. Stay tuned.

Puma Pumps Up Its Hollywood Jam

Looks like Puma's going Hollywood. 

The fashion athletic company said that it's opening a new office dedicated to entertainment marketing in Los Angeles next month. The West Coast operation will be geared to increasing corporate partnerships and product interaction with music and film celebrities. Can we get a "Sexy Back Speedcat"??!!

Anyways, you know what new offices mean! More staff! Puma USA is adding new roles to fill up the cubes the L.A. office (hey, it might be fashion, but it's all work-a-day office aesthetics, or so we have to believe as we stretch beyond the limits of our three walled container). Ryan Babenzien joins as head of U.S. marketing operations. He was formerly the business development and strategy consultant for Oddcast, New York, a company that does web authoring tools or some other such beep-boop-beep. Ryan Ayanian, who previously worked as a consultant for marketing agency Antenna, Ontario, Canada, has been hired as music marketing manager. And last, but not least (though we admit we have no knowledge of how Puma's hierarchy works) Ed Choi, who joined Puma in 2006 following at stint at ID Agency, Manhattan Beach, Calif., has been named entertainment marketing manager.

For Barney Waters, Puma North America's vp-marketing, the new office is a move to go "fish where the fish are," though he did note that the brand has had a smaller marketing presence on the West Coast for some time.

"These moves represent a recommitment to entertainment marketing as a real driver for the Puma brand," Waters told us over email. "We're also evolving our approach, as there are so many more opportunities beyond product placement. Hollywood is a great place to develop relationships and brand driven content, which can help reach the people that may not be spending as much time looking at traditional media outlets."

Puma has been making inroads with celebrities over the past several years, working on design and advertising projects with rapper Ludacris and socialite-heiress Lydia Hearst-Shaw (we're not saying she's 100%, but she's definitely not like the other socialite-heiresses we can think of. Barf Tinsley Mortimer and Paris Hilton!), among others. This month, Puma unveiled its new TV campaign, featuring cute-but-disposable Scottish singer/songwriter Paolo Nutini (pictured, right, smoking something). Nutini's single, "New Shoes," is being used in Puma’s lifestyle campaign. We were wondering how long it would take for that to get snatched up by the commercial world.

In May, the company will begin promotional tie-ins with the film Speed Racer, which will include a signature shoe, product placement in the movie and worldwide in-store promotional campaigns. BTW... Does anyone remember what exactly Speed Racer, the show, was about, you know besides a boy racing, like, fast? We're trying to recall, but just can't seem to do it. Somehow, this didn't seem like a movie idea to us. But 'tevs, we're not filmmakers. But why not a He-Man movie? Hey, we're just sayin'.

No notes on what they'll be spending this year to pull off these tie-ins and tie-ons. In 2006, Puma spent $13 million on advertising in the U.S., excluding online, down 23% from $17 million in 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Oh No She Didn't! Jill Granoff Leaves Liz Claiborne for Kenneth Cole

The Gossip Girl in us finds this one kind of delicious, but the journo in us finds it kind of a headscratcher.

Jill Granoff has left her spot as the EVP of direct brands at Liz Claiborne (overseeing the company's golden children: Juicy Couture, Mexx,  Kate Spade and  Lucky Brand) to become the CEO of Kenneth Cole Productions. At her new gig, which starts May 5, Granoff will be in charge of retail, wholesale and licensing for all domestic and international operations, effectively taking over the responsibilities of brand namesake Kenneth Cole who will continue on as chairman and chief creative officer to manage the brand's positioning, product, design and advertising (maybe he can make it seem less tired and derivative!). Both are pictured, at right, in our fun-with-Photo Shop estimation of what the new deal must look/feel like.

Ok, we get it from an ego perspective, CEO trumps EVP, no question. But it kinda seems like she traded one sick child for another. While Claiborne has its own issues, including that recent $451 million loss, they at least appear to be on the road to recovery. (For more on Claiborne's situation, check out our feature, "Rough Measurements"). Kenneth Cole, on the other hand, seems to be in some seriously bad shape and we don't hear any buzz about them getting better. In fact, we've been hearing that they're on the verge of a turnaround for at least the past two years. And nothing.

In its most recent earnings report (from March 4), Kenneth Cole Productions posted net sales of $119.5 million for the fourth quarter, practically flat against last year. For the full year 2007, sales were $466.4 million, down 5.5% from 2006. Not so bad. Er, until you look at the profits. The company posted a net loss of $3.1 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter, versus a gain of $8 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. When the last cash register chimed in for 2007, the brand posted only $7.1 million in profits, or 35 cents a share, down almost 75% from 2006, when they posted net income of $26.8 million.

If you can't read between the lines, or you don't have your abacus out: that's not good. And why do people leave jobs that seem like they could be promising for ones that will likely be a total mess? Beaucoup d'argent, cherie! Then again, maybe Granoff's been shown a plan we're, and the earnings analysts, aren't privy to. Or maybe she just likes a challenge.

But hey, a little financial thunderstorm won't prevent us from giving you guys the PR love fest, fresh from the release:

"We are extremely excited to have Jill on our team. She has a great track record of building brands, and I look forward to working with her and leveraging her strategic and operational capabilities to improve all aspects of our company," said Kenneth Cole, in a statement. "It is a new era for me, and the company. I am confident that having an executive of Jill's stature and abilities, to partner with me and our strong management team, will allow the company to achieve even greater successes in its next chapter."

And Granoff's air kisses:

"I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with Kenneth and the management team to realize the extraordinary potential of this global lifestyle brand," said Granoff, in a statement. "I am particularly excited to help build upon the strong brand heritage while helping to drive new growth initiatives in the retail and international arenas."

Honey, we think you'd have a better chance of doing that with Juicy Couture than Kenneth Cole, but, hey what do we know? Oh, and there was also this fun little nugget from Liz Claiborne CEO William McComb, that we're reading as a kind of "bitch please" statement:

"We have made a lot of progress towards the execution of our strategy over the last eight months, in particular by placing strong leaders in the multi-functional roles each of these companies requires to successfully expand its business," said McComb, in a statement. "We thank Jill for her valuable contributions to the company during the past two years and we wish her the very best on future endeavors. While we're disappointed to see her leave, we have a deep bench of talent at the management level, and I am confident that this will be a seamless transition."

For some reason, we picture McComb penning this while Tina Turner's "When the Heartache Is Over" booms in the background.

Promo Time!: Feeling Confused And In Need Of a Primer on Liz Claiborne Inc.? We've Got Just the Thing!

So, we're pretty proud of this feature we just churned out about the wild times at Liz Claiborne high.

But don't worry, this ain't a laundry list of what brands got sold, which ones were kept, etc. If you want that, check the chart in the print edition. Rather, the text you'll get the link to down below tells the story of a CPG man who came to clean up a fashion house. It's also the story of how the buying sprees of the Go-Go 1980s and the merger mania of the 1990s have come back to haunt the apparel industry, as seen through the microcosm of Liz Claiborne's storied house that started as an affordable apparel firm geared towards the new working women, but flopped into the new millenium bursting at the seams with some 40 brands she couldn't seem to hold together.

During the past rocket-fueled year that William McCombs has been the CEO of Liz Claiborne Inc, he's made some pretty sweeping, dramatic changes. And what's more, he's been really, really open about it. (And trust us, this isn't typical in fashion, where much of the business, like the clothes themselves, can be a bit smoke and mirrors.)

So kick back and enjoy a trip through Liz's wild year, and of course, let us know what you think.

The journey begins... here.

Financial Desk: Strong Gains in Q1 Portend Bright 2008 For LVMH

In the words of one Flavor-Flav, LVMH Chairman and CEO
Bernard Arnault "knows what time it is."

Remember when the luxury house's head honcho (pictured, right), whom we've always thought was like a lost member of the Rat Pack, said this, a while back?

"I believe that [the recession's] consequences on LVMH will be limited, weak, or even non-existent. In fact, the clientele that we are dealing with is far less affected than the rest of the economy by these short-term economic swings.  They have high purchasing power, located in a number of countries where the economic climate will be bouyant, even if there's a minor recession in the U.S."

Well, he wasn't just puffing his sails. First quarter revenue reports show that, with the sole exception of the wine and spirits group, all divisions of LVMH are up.

Fashion and leather goods grew 7%, led by the strength of Louis Vuitton, which received its own TV commercial this quarter, in addition to recently inking a deal to have Rolling Stones' guitarist (and, we think, animatronic wax doll) Keith Richards star in its current print campaign. On the product front, the company said that the collaboration between Marc Jacobs and Richard Prince (the artist of "Let's not and say we did, XOXO, Jennifer Aniston" fame) was particularly successful. Meanwhile, perfumes and cosmetics grew 8%, attributed to the continued momentum of the Christian Dior brand offerings, as well as the new Midnight Poison fragrance and Addict High Shine lipstick.

But the real winner of the quarter was the watches and jewelry group , which posted 12% revenue gains over the year-earlier period. Strength came from brands including TAG Heuer, Zenith and the Christal collection from Dior. The company added that Chaumet and De Beers also continued their retail expansion plans and increased revenues. New watches previewed at Art Basel in Switzerland have reportedly attracted "large increases in orders" from retailers.

And the bottom kicker of the sales release seems to only confirm what Arnault had promised earlier:

"LVMH will continue its growth in 2008 despite the challenging monetary environment and an uncertain economic climate at the beginning of this year. Increasing market share and the profitability of its leading brands as well as improving the results of its developing companies remain LVMH top priorities."

If they can keep these numbers up, or better yet, best them, then we think it's fair to say that the strategy we outlined a while back, that of weathering the recession by only appealing to the top end clientele, has indeed proved not only stable, but a money maker for LVMH.

Breaking News: Commes Des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo To Design Next Guest Collection for H&M

Now this is one that actually has us a little hot under the collar.   

Lagerfeld, sure. Viktor & Rolf, cute. Cavalli, sexy. Stella McCartney, feh. Rei Kawakubo, what?!

That's right, empress of whimsical Japanese luxe label Comme des Garcons, Rei Kawakubo, has announced that she will be the featured artiste on H&M's next designer collaboration. The collection launches first in early November, to coincide with the opening of H&M's second Tokyo store. In the following days, it will roll out to doors in the rest of H&M's global markets.

The collection will include apparel for men, women and children, as well as accessories and a unisex fragrance. This certainly is a much more expanded program than the fast fashion retailer has done in the past, and it would seem that the growth of product offering owes everything to the freshness that Kawakubo can bring to the brand.

Much like the Japanese designers Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, with whom she formed the Japanese triumvirate that defined much of the new wave fashion of 1980s American culture, Kawakubo's designs are structurally intense, and often include popular cultural references in a rather Pop Art motif (such as a series of men's suits she rolled out a in spring 2006 back that featured the iconic Rolling Stone's lips n' tongue logo splayed across the fabric). She was also the mentor for another fashion avant-gartist whose star appears to be ascending these days, Junya Wantanabe. For a look at some of her work, check the photo above.

That said, we're so interested to see what she turns out when she's not using high-tech fabrics or restrained by price points that might tie in some of her more flights of fantasy designs. As we see it, this could be a love it or hate it collection, and we just hope that the quality matches up to the buzz that will no doubt follow this collection's launch. We remember hearing that there were some issues with the clothes that Cavalli put out on the racks, not to mention those of the McCartney collection (said one of our friends, at the time: "I walked out with a cute dress that turned into a pile of buttons and thread after two weeks.").

Anyways, as always, here's the mutual lovefest that always follows these kinds of announcements.

"I have always been interested in the balance between creation and business," said Kawakubo, in a statement. "It is a dilemma, although creation for me has always been the first priority. It is a fascinating challenge to work with H&M since it is a chance to take the dilemma to its extreme and try to solve it."

See what we mean? Seems like old Kawakubo might be prepping us for the design vs. quality vs. price issue we outlined above. Less avant garde, but better quality, or more envelope pushing and delicate? Again, will be so interesting to see her "solution" as she calls it.

And now from H&M's creative advisor Margareta van den Bosch (great name, non?!):

"Rei Kawakubo has been at the top of our wish list for a long time and we are thrilled that she has chosen to collaborate with us," said van den Bosch, in a statement. "We have tremendous respect for Kawakubo's fashion philosophy of questioning fashion's ingrained patterns, and admire her artistic approach to design. We are particularly excited that the collection will be launched in Japan, Kawakubo's native country, at the same time as the launch of our new store there."

Ok, so we'll have to stay tuned, but we think this could be good news. It will drive some buzz—as these collections have done in past incarnations—for both the designer and the retailer, exposing the younger, less monied set to Kawakubo's work and perhaps building brand affinity there, while probably giving H&M a much fresher and more high-concept street reputation for the risk they're taking in bringing her in.

We'll be checking back in November to see what the product looks like!

Lessons in Branding: Why the Woody Allen Vs. American Apparel Case Is Actually Kind of Funny

If you hadn't heard already, director Woody Allen is suing
American Apparel for $10 million, for using his image,
without permission, in one of its outdoor campaigns in May 2007.

The campaign features a photo of Allen, dressed as a Jewish rabbi in his 1977 Academy Award winning film Annie Hall, beside Hebrew script that translates to "The Holy Rebbe." (See photo, right.)

While the lawsuit is certainly interesting—or maybe not really, we find legalese to be somewhat tiresome and who isn't suing anyone else these days?—the whole situation has us kind of perplexed, then chortling, then perplexed again.

So first, you take an ego-maniac like Allen (Full disclosure: we love Allen's work; Annie Hall makes our top 10 movies of all time, though our boyfriend pulled a gifting gaff for our last anniversary by getting Manhattan, still a good movie, but it no Annie, and, for the record, we don't care if it's the deluxe edition and we once mentioned it was "our real favorite Allen movie."), and you use him in branding that doesn't, well, directly promote him and his work.

We need to note here that Allen has found a way to finagle himself into nearly all of his movie scripts, and, in the aforementioned was, indeed the main character, so this guy is no stranger to an über-level of self-promo. So we have to imagine that Allen's real beef here not that there's a promotional image of himself out there, but rather than the said image isn't promoting him in a way that he totally controls. That's totally fair, and who would want their mug on an American Apparel ad, especially without their permission? (Though some of our friends have appeared in the ads, with their all-too-eager permission.)

According to press reports concerning the lawsuit, the case argues that the use of Allen's image in the billboards in Hollywood and New York were "especially egregious and damaging," and that Allen does not endorse products or services in the United States. Hmmm... We can think of a couple things Allen has done to himself that were more "egregious and damaging" than a few billboards with a still from one of his movies, but we'll get to that later. 

Second, you take a company that has made its name with 1970s porn-style ads that feature either moist looking hipsters or their rather sleazy looking bearded brethren. We're all for it, and love the gay-themed advertisements that they've done in publications like BUTT (anyone remember those "Bottoms...And Tops" spots?!, WARNING: NSFW. A tamer spot is pictured, below, left.), but, in the end, it's just kind of an edgy sex-sells play for the apparel company, you know, with a little vintage sleaze thrown in for good measure.

This oddly brings us back to Allen, someone who's rather a 1970s vintage cartoon character, who scandalized himself with what some would call a sleazy, sexual relationship with Soon Yi, the adopted daughter of Allen's former flame, Mia Farrow. So we kind of see the relevance from a marketing standpoint. In fact, in response to a query from The Jewish Daily Forward, American Apparel rep defined Allen as the brand's "spiritual leader." And if you think about it, it's kind of dead on. Better in the 1970s, sexually provocative, somewhat over-thought and overwrought (thinking lamé swimsuits and Celebrity), well these concepts all seem to define both the American Apparel and Woody Allen "brands."

Anyhow, we're not so impressed by the outdoor ads, but they sure got a lot of attention, so perhaps this whole weird mélange is worth its weight in branding gold. Still, wouldn't something it have been cooler if AA had superimposed Allen's face on one of their own hipster-hot models? Like this. So what's the lesson here folks? Well, it remains to be seen if these ads and the lawsuit move the needle any for American Apparel (as if they need it, the stores around here are always hopping with pretty, and some not-so-pretty, young things) and if that movement outweighs any legal costs, but if so, the lesson seems to be find someone both scandalous and (considered) brilliant in their field, someone who kind of relates to your own brand values, and then slap their image up on your billboards. Without all the hassle of asking.

We're not in favor of breaking the laws, per se, or abusing someone else's likeness, but do marketers really care about such meddling things as this, you know, provided it's still selling products?

Also, it's not like American Apparel hasn't ever been on the receiving end of image misappropriation issues, but for them, it actually turned out to be kind of a good thing. They were one of the faux sponsors in a Youtube spoof dubbed "The Hipster Olympics," in which contestants from Williamsburg, Brooklyn (our nabe, coincidentally, so the satire here does sting a bit) snort cocaine to get in the game, take MySpace photos, pick out ironic album covers, and dis normals.

When we asked what they thought about it, American Apparel director of corporate finance and development Adrian Kowalewski told us that since the spot wasn't "grossly defamatory" it wasn't such a big deal.

"It's quite flattering to us that our marketing would inspire someone to do a mock ad," Kowalewski added. "We think this is a reflection of how impactful our advertising has been to our audience."

So c'mon Woody, what's the big deal, man? Can't we all just, like, brand along? Anyways, I'll let you readers sort it out.

Check out the "Hipster Olympics" video, below.