Fashion Notebook

Research Desk: Girls Will Give Up Coffee Before Concealer

The current economic situation may look ugly, but that doesn’t mean women want to. Which, at least, is some good news for marketers and health and beauty retailers.

According to the Allure Beauty Index, an online survey of 1,088 readers of Allure magazine conducted on its Web site in April, 75% of respondents said they would give up other indulgences before they would stop buying their favorite beauty products.

What’s more, 84% of those surveyed said they felt beauty “is a necessity in life.” We know, we know, it is a little bit cringe-inducing, y'know, given what's happening in Myanmar right now, and I don't know, immigrant refugees being burned alive in South Africa. But this is the U.S. peeps, where it's OK to put beauty, and fashion, first. After all, many of our basic needs are met, or at least so the popular media tells us. Plus, there's that big news event of that big big big movie coming out now, guys! It's so big even the international press is getting Carried away. (We promise, no more SATC references. God knows we've had enough of them!)

Sorry, we're getting off track today. More to the point for marketers, 65% agreed with the statement that “you can't put a budget on beauty,” which means charge whatever the f*ck you want for those not-tested-on-animals powders, creams and compounds.         

When asked where they would look to cut back their spending, those surveyed ranked the affected categories as follows:

    •    Dining out: 69%                         •    Home goods 44%            
    •    Jewelry/watches: 59%               •    Clothing: 37%
    •    Electronics: 58%                        •    Automobile: 30%
    •    Entertainment: 51%                        •    Beauty products: 16%
    •    Vacation: 45%

   

Not that Starbucks hasn’t recently been hit with enough ugly financial news, 79% of respondents said they would “eliminate afternoon Starbucks’ runs” in order to be able to afford their favorite beauty products. In addition, 56% said they would alter their vacation plans to free up funds for their beauty needs.               

The survey did have good news for some food retailers: 61% said they would save money by switching to
lower-priced “generic” food brands at the grocery store. That means, like, buying 365 Organic at Whole Foods, right?

Financial Desk: Sales Down, But Earnings Up 40% for Gap, as Retailer Cuts Marketing Budget

We hate to see this, because it means less creative, but cutting its marketing expenses was one tactic that helped Gap bolster its bottom line, even as sales continued their slide into the red.

In addition to other cost cutting measures that included reduced remodeling efforts for Old Navy stores, and a $15 million pre-tax earnings benefit, Sabrina Simmons, Gap Inc.’s EVP/CFO, said in an earnings call late Thursday that “lower marketing expenses” also helped lift earnings 40% to $249 million, for the quarter ended May 3.

So where was the blood spilled in the marketing department?

Well, ad spend dropped almost 18% from the year-earlier period, closing at $93 million for the quarter. The $21 million reduction was due in large part to the absence of TV spots for the Gap brand, Simmons said. However, she added that shareholders and analysts shouldn’t expect such cuts to continue.

“Unlike this first quarter, we expect our marketing expenses in the second quarter to be fairly similar to last year’s level of $88 million,” she said.

Yay! Maybe we'll have some more fun creative to look forward to this summer, when we're all staying indoors and running the air conditioners to escape from global warming. That is, though of us who have TV. (We're luddites, y'all, except when we visit our wife to watch rounds and rounds of Lifetime Movies.)

While earnings might have been a bright spot, and showed the beleaguered firm capable of trimming costs for the benefit of its investors, sales trends showed signs of trouble amid an economic slowdown that has the whole retail industry reeling. Comp store sales at Gap North America dropped 7% for the quarter to $976 million, and Old Navy posted an 18% decrease, dropping to $1.2 billion in sales.

If you don't have your financial party hat on, folks, that means, pretty much, "things sucked  over the past three months." Which is too bad for Old Navy, because we, (and the wife), LOVE those new ads. It's like Gossip Girl meets Fred Flare's Crafternoon Delights. Seriously, some fierce-ass dresses that might have the retailer beating Forever 21 at its own game. Seriously, if you haven't seen these ads (also screen-grabbed, above, right), they just might change the way you view Old Navy. They did for us.

Meanwhile, on the richer side of things, Banana Republic's comp store sales dropped 4% to $538 million and Glenn Murphy, chairman and CEO,  said that the brand had been affected by challenging traffic trends, and an “uncharacteristically promotional” environment at the apparel chain’s direct competitors. Thus far, Banana Republic has avoided playing the promotional card to drive sales.

“We’re watching the competitive landscape very closely,” added Murphy. “And [we] are prepared to make the necessary adjustments to drive traffic if this promotional level that we are seeing currently was to continue.”

Yay SALES that are sure to come. Because, honey, that's a brand for the aspirational rich, not the real rich, and we ain't getting any more money any time soon. That is, until Obama is in the White House, but we don't want to get political. We just want good health care, education, and leadership that will get us out of this war, y'know, in less than 100 years. But we digress.

Net sales for the company dropped about 5% to $3.38 billion for the first quarter. The company has maintained its guidance for fiscal 2008 earnings per share to fall in the range of $1.20 to $1.27.

Lessons in Branding: How Diesel Fuel For Life Rocketed the Brand to the Top of the Fragrance Market, With Just One Launch

So no doubt you've all seen the ads for Diesel's first foray into
the fragrance category, Fuel For Life, right? (If not, check out these trés sexy photos, at right and below, left). Well, what you probably didn't know is that this one fragrance has shot the Diesel name up to the top of the men's cologne business.

According to figures from NPD Group, the fragrance was the No. 3 overall launch (across men's and women's fragrances) for 2007, despite the fact that Diesel had no history in the category. What's more, through February 2008, the fragrance is solidly within the Top 10 Men's Colognes, ranked by sales.

So how'd they do it? With an ad campaign that didn't only win over consumers, but also won awards, picking up the Fragrance Advertising of the Year via the Fragrance Foundation, in both the men's and women's category. So when we're drooling over the eye candy in both of these shots, it's for a reason. This stuff really IS solid gold.

Wanna hear more? Well, you can ready all about it in our article "Filling It Up With Premium." If you're link-a-phobic, here's a taste:

It's no secret that most every fashion brand wants to break into the fragrance business. And with good reason. While the market is fickle, materials can be found on the cheap, the bottles have a long shelf life and their contents are less prone to the more dramatic trend overhauls that characterize luxury apparel. Because customers will actually pay up to $80 for a little bottle of the stuff, the profit margins smell loveliest of all. But Diesel knew it was facing an uphill battle as an unknown in the space, which was presumably behind its decision to partner with L'Oréal, Paris, for its first foray into the category.

It's also why the introductory support broke many of the traditional rules L'Oréal applies to marketing and launching its ever-expanding portfolio of fragrances. First there was the aforementioned antimarketing viral campaign in the weeks leading up to the August 2007 launch. (Some subsequent print ads announced that the fragrance was "finally legalised.")

Next, when it came to traditional brand advertising (chiefly print and TV), the campaign took a more-is-more approach. Rather than one TV spot, the company created six, via agency FFL Paris. Instead of two, static print ads, one for men and one for women, that feature either a celebrity or single model, FFL created four executions, each of them utilizing a new model to express the individuality of the fragrance. The tag read simply: "Are You Alive?"

"For us, this was an ambitious project," said Ulli Lindauer, vp-marketing of L'Oréal European designer fragrances. "There is a moment captured in the photography that is a universal moment of feeling alive. It was about the brand giving each of us the opportunity to be an individual."

Lessons in Branding: How Steve & Barry's Does a Lot With a Little

OK, so if you haven't read our news story (you know, that OTHER
job we have), about Steve & Barry's launching a new collection of
branded "Sex and the City" t-shirts and tank tops ahead of the year's least-anticipated and most-loathed premier (to us), check it out here. If you're link-a-phobic, here's the brief:

"Further cashing in on the stars of HBO's hit show Sex and the City, Steve and Barry's has launched a collection of branded T-shirts and tank tops designed by leading actress Sarah Jessica Parker.

The collection, with all items priced under $9, hit cheap n' chic retail stores last week, ahead of the May 30 premiere of Sex and the City: The Movie at theaters nationwide. The T-shirts and tank tops come with printed phrases including "I'm with Mr. Big" and "I (Heart) Sex and the City," as well as images of the characters from the TV series."

"Millions of women have flocked to our stores since the launch of Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten brand last year, and Sex and the City: The Movie merchandise is a perfect complement to that collection," said Howard Schacter, chief partnership officer at Steve & Barry's, New York.

OK, so why does this matter, and why, as we contend in the headline to this post, do we see it as a brilliant example of doing "a lot with a little." Well, pretty much, it's because Steve & Barry's is likely to get a groundswell from this, selling not only these t-shirts, but also more items from the "Bitten" collection that the retailer trotted out from Sarah Jessica Parker (she of the Skeletor visage, pictured left, in that show that proffers female empowerment but really ends up, sing it with us Obama, "more of the same," in our humble opinion, and that of others) last year. And better yet, they'll do it—again—with barely a cent spent on advertising.

This isn't a groundbreaking marketing idea—big film coming up, you've already got a product tie-in to one of the characters, so plug her again and ride the film's publicity and boon in related Internet searches to see the sales needle get a lift—so why aren't more people doing it?

Well, the answer to that might be that they're just too damn rich. And that's not a slight.

Think about it. When we're flush, it's all dinners at BLT Prime and brunch at Essex, but when we're broke, it's poulet roti chez nous with rosemary and other fresh herbs, that serves two and, we dare say, tastes just as good as the same dish at either of those tony joints. Leftovers are broken down into chicken salad, the bones boiled into a chicken soup. And presto! We've got lunch for days. And for about half the cost of a porterhouse at BLT. Sure, we definitely got way more out of cooking the chicken at home and getting creative with stretching the meals, but that's because we had to. And once our coffers are full again, you'd better believe we'll redefine dinner—like retailers and apparel companies define a "launch"—as a strictly Tourondel affair. N'est ce-pas?

So what if the big agencies and brands just starved their budgets on a few projects and saw where it went? Listen, we're not saying that Nike should book Sharapova for a tennis commercial and then forego a TV spot, but maybe test out an anemic cash flow on a smaller project and see what the creatives come up with. You never know where the results might lead. Maybe even straight to sales.

Stay tuned to see how well the "Sex and the City" tops do. You know we are.

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.

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.

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!

What the 2008 CFDA Nominations Tell Us About American Fashion

Another spring, another awards season for the Council of Fashion Designers of America. We always look forward to this announcement, and yet we always walk away from the press release disappointed. Why? Well, because year after year, it all just feels the same and it's gotten to the point where we feel we could pick out the nominees, blindfolded and drunk, and probably get them right about 90% of the time. But first, the nominees.

In case you haven't heard, the group, whose prez is none other than that lullaby-talking Diane Von Furstenberg, has announced the following nominations for 2008: [Note: The Swarovski awards recognize emerging design talent.]

Womenswear Designer of the Year                                   Swarovski Award for Womenswear
Francisco Costa (Calvin Klein)                                            Kate & Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte)
Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough (Proenza Schouler)     Thakoon Panichgul (Thakoon)
Marc Jacobs                                                                      Alexander Wang

Menswear Designer of the Year                                        Swarovski Award for Menswear
Thom Browne                                                                   Patrik Ervell
Michael Bastian                                                                Tim Hamilton
Tom Ford                                                                         Scott Sternberg (Band of Outsiders)

Accessory Designer of the Year                                        Swarovski Award for Accessory Design   Tory Burch                                                                       Philip Crangi
Marc Jacobs                                                                      Justin Giunta (Subversive Jewelry)
Michael Kors                                                                     Joy Gryson

Well, congratulations to all the winners. Then again, we're sure they've heard it all before. Actually, they have. Let's take a quick, two-year trip down memory lane, just with the marquee awards.

CFDA Nominees 2007                                                     CFDA Nominees 2006     

Womenswear:                                                                  Womenswear:
Oscar de  la Renta                                                            Francisco Costa (Calvin Klein)
L. Hernandez and J. McCollough (Proenza Schouler)            L. Hernandez and J. McCollough (PS)
Marc Jacobs                                                                     Marc Jacobs

Menswear:                                                                       Menswear:
Steven Cox and Daniel Silver (Duckie Brown)                      Thom Browne
Ralph Lauren                                                                    Ralph Lauren
Italo Zucchelli (Calvin Klein)                                              Alexandre Plokhov (Cloak)

Accessory Designer of the Year:                                          Accessory Designer of the Year:
Marc Jacobs                                                                      Marc Jacobs    
Michael Kors                                                                     Michael Kors
Derek Lam                                                                        Tom Binns

Notice anything? Like maybe the fact that the nominees in the
womenswear category have remained virtually unchanged (with the
exception of Oscar de la Renta) for the past three years? Or that Michael Kors (pictured, right, doing his Project Runway duties) and Marc Jacobs have been the accessory designer of the year nominees for three years running, as well? The only thing that seems to have changed much at all is the men's category.

In his statement regarding this year's nominees, CFDA executive director Steven Kolb lauds the way in which "this year's nominees and honorees reflect the strength and vitality of the American fashion industry."

Really? It seems to us that it suggests the industry is rather stagnant, with only the same three names worthy of distinction in each of the categories. And let's not forget that chief among those names, Mr. Marc Jacobs, seemed poised, only a season ago, to take his whole operation to Paris. But we digress.

In essence, it would seem that the CFDA nominations this year, and as we've demonstrated above, the past several years, prove that American fashion is a pretty rarified echelon in which only a standard round of top names compete for industry prizes. For an industry where the bread and butter is creativity, the stagnancy (why does that word keep coming to us?) of the nominations list seems to imply a less thoughtful approach. That said, if asked which designers we thought were tops in American design, we'd be hard pressed to come up with a different list. Perhaps the fault then, dear readers, is not within the CFDA nominating committee but within our American fashion selves.

It's hard for American designers—hell, for ANY designers—to become established like these award winners anymore, given the difficulties of getting funding and the fact that we live in a world that no longer seems to care about the development of talent as much as they do about constantly having something new, something chic, and something with a name that others will recognize. To that end, CFDA (and Vogue) are to be commended for their work to bring notoriety to new design labels, as they have with Proenza Schouler, who now top the ranks of their regular awards, having graduated from the Swarovski Award for Womenswear. But it's hard to see any kind of sea change in American fashion coming—and perhaps no one wants it—given that these guys are always at the top of the list for women's design.

Here's hoping that maybe Christian Siriano, recent Project Runway winner (whom we can't help ourselves but to shill for), will liven up those ranks in the coming years.

And full disclaimer: This post is not a statement, by Fashion Notebook, that we think any of the nominated designers aren't talented, or are not worthy of awards. Rather, it is a statement that we've seen these same people getting awards and nominations for years, and we're wondering why there's no one else in the American fashion ring worthy of such distinction by the CFDA.

Financial Desk: On Q4 and FY07 Losses, Macy's To Investors: "Hey, We're Not Doing As Badly As The Others!"

It's not a good day for retailers, with many reporting sales
and earnings slumps.

In its report this morning, Macy's appears to be hoping that they might at least look better than the competition.

"While a weakened economic environment led our industry to softer financial results than initially expected, Macy's, Inc. did outperform most of our primary competitors in the fourth quarter," said Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO, in a statement. "We also generated significant cash flow despite weaker-than-expected sales trends. Going  forward, we are aggressively pursuing our recently announced market localization initiative to drive future sales and earnings."

What's he talking about? Well, earlier this month, the brand announced that they would be consolidating their various Macy's regional divisions into three primary groups: Macy's East, Macy's West, and Macy's South. Within each of those divisions will be 20 "districts," each consisting of about 10 stores, governed by a new workforce of about 250 managers. The thought is that by having more management in more localized markets, the company will be able to make much more specific marketing appeals to its consumers, tailoring everything to their particularly tastes, whims, or geographic proclivities. Of course, that consolidation also includes the downsizing of some 2,550 jobs across the previous geo-divisions. More on that, here.

 

Oh, and also, Macy's announced that it will no longer be reporting same-store monthly sales figures, which, you know, are the clearest indicator of a retailer's performance inbetween earnings reports. Oh, and another thing, they're not going to be giving anymore estimates about sales and earnings for the future. That certainly sounds like an underwhelming vote of confidence in the company's ability to perform.

"In total, 2007 was a year of significant strategic progress," added Lundgren, in a statement. "We successfully launched exclusive new brands such as Martha Stewart Collection, invested for continued growth in the direct-to-consumer business, expanded Bloomingdale's, changed our corporate name, and launched a breakthrough new marketing approach under the umbrella of 'The Magic of Macy's'."

You probably remember that particular campaign from the holiday season, when you were besieged by a commercial with a melee of images of Donald Trump, Sean Combs, Martha Stewart (who almost seemed warm and whom we were also relieved to see unshackled from KMart), and mental eyesore Jessica Simpson hawking their products sold through the mega-retailer.

Lay your chips down, folks, we're betting on Martha as the sales driving leader in the full collection category this year. Hopefully, for Macy's she'll be "a good thing."

Financial Desk: Despite Q4 Weakness, Nordstrom Rolls on With Seven New Stores for 2008

Another sign that the luxury market might be buckling, Nordstrom reported declines across the balance sheet for the fourth quarter.

Net sales dropped 4.4% to $2.51 billion for the quarter ended Feb. 2, and net earnings declined 8.6% to $212 million, or 92 cents a share. For the full year, sales increased 3% to $8.83 billion, and earnings rose 5.5% to $715 million, or $2.88 per share.

The declines were caused, in part, by a "trailing effect" from the previous quarter, according to President Blake Nordstrom's statements in a conference call.

"[That trailing effect] coupled with the softer environment impacted our bottom line," he added, noting that the first half of the year had been, "in terms of sales," successful. "As we look ahead to 2008 and beyond, we are focused on executing our long-term strategy of increasing market share with our core customers by offering great service and the best merchandise the market has to offer. We are in a position of strength financially, which allows us to take advantage of opportunities that may come our way, as well as weather any current challenges that we may face."

Increasing market share with  core customers, boosting service and merchandise, eh? Seems that's exactly what Milton Pedraza, of The Luxury Institute told us was precisely the strategy the luxury market needed to combat the pending/current recession.

While the year-end increases do support Nordstrom's contention of his company's strong financial position, we have to think that moving ahead with the retailer's growth plan is unwise at this time. Nordstrom plans to open seven more stores this year—in Honolulu, Hawaii; Burlington, Mass.; Clinton Township, Mich.; Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Naples, Fla.—in addition to the 165,000 square foot store it opened Feb. 15 in Aventura, Fla.

No notes about changes to their marketing plan that we've seen yet, but those cartoonish inserts they've been running for a while now certainly haven't made us want to shop there.

Oscar Wrap-Up: Why Marketing Was the Night's Most Interesting Star

So if last night's ceremony, presenter banter, and Jon Stewart had us yawning in our
seats, at least the marketing plugs were there to wake us up! In fact, we might go so
far as to say that marketing was the real star of the show.

Things kicked off with some good designer plugs in the women's dress category. Headline news: Cotillard up, Kidman down. For a more comprehensive breakdown, check out our previous Oscar post, here. (Or, er, scroll below!)

But we left one of those ladies out of the line-up, because she was just such a good piece of marketing collateral that we thought her more appropriate for this part of the wrap-up. Drum roll please: Heidi Klum in that gorgeous red dress by John Galliano, a philanthropic tie-in for Coca-Cola, which ran its Red Dress campaign spots during the event. The dress (pictured, with Klum, below) will be auctioned off on MyCokeRewards.com, with proceeds going to the charity Heart Truth, which raises awareness about heart disease in women.

Then there were the commercials, and I have to say that the fashion set more than represented. The new J.C. Penney ads for the "American Living" collection seemed to translate well (at least, among our viewing audience last night in a cramped Brooklyn apartment), and everyone seemed pleasantly surprised by the American Express ads with Diane von Furstenberg. Both ads got some prominent sponsorship play before the commercial break had even commenced.

So for the fashion marketers, it seemed like the night sailed on smoothly, unlike Cameron Diaz's attempt to pronounce such difficult words as "cinematography" (again, we still don't understand why she gets Galliano's Dior dresses!).

And then there were these weird product plugs.

Here's Jon Stewart bemusedly futzing with his iPhone. If ever there were a completely smooth pitchman, Stewart's not one of 'em. In a lame segue, he talked about getting to catch up on all of the year's great films right there at the podium. (Because, you know, the square inches of the iPhone really help to communicate the Old West grandeur of "There Will Be Blood." Seriously, has Stewart even used this device?). Then of course, he announces that they're better viewed in widescreen. He turns the phone horizontally and the camera pans in for a great shot of the iPhone and Apple logo. In the end, it's not a bad plug, it's just, well, kinda shameless and we're sure that even those who aren't marketers recognized this little bit for the sham it is. Kind of like the Bluefly.com "Accessories Wall" in Project Runway or the numerous mentions Coke gets during American Idol.

And then there was this COMPLETELY SHAMELESS PLUG for the Nintendo Wii. Coming back from commercial, Stewart and the little girl from that Gospel choir, were engaged in a heated game of Wii Tennis, projected on enormous screens for the whole audience to see. No joke followed, no setup really introduced the plug. It was suddenly just there.  Check out the video below.

Do marketers seriously think the American public is this stupid that they wouldn't know a complete corporate shill when they see it? Why not give away sponsorship titles for the awards at this point? And the Oscar for the Coca-Cola Best Actress goes to... Marion Cotillard! Just think of it! She could thank Diet Coke, of course, for all of those days on set when she needed a fizzy drink that calmed her stomach but didn't contribute to any stress-induced weight gain. Well, that's if San Pelligrino doesn't get the award sponsorship first.

Now that we're mulling it, is this a bad idea? Everyone knows these shows are rigged shams anyways, I don't care how many staged videos I have to see of Frank Pierson being denied at the doors of Price Waterhouse Cooper.

Oscar Wrap-Up: Which Actresses Repped Their Brands the Best on the Red Carpet

So we're back after a late night staying up for that tired annual awards show: The  Oscars. (We know the show ended just after 11:40 our time, but we stayed up late bitching to our bicoastal friends about lame montages, good/bad dresses, and, like everyone else apparently, Diablo Cody).

Seriously, if it weren't our job to stay up  until the wee hours tracking who was wearing what, how they wore it, and how brands made their way onto the stage or in the commercial slots, we would have wrapped this up by 9:00 pm EST and sailed off to bed on a few DVR'ed episodes of "Paula's Home Cooking."

But, for better or worse, we stayed up, enduring less-than-pithy commentary by John Stewart, and some heartbreaking losses ("Surf's Up" losing out to "Ratatouille" for Best Animated Feature and "There Will Be Blood" losing out to "No Country For Old Men" for Best Picture). And it's a good thing we did, because the marketing, as far as we're concerned was the star of this year's drag-along show. But let's kick it off chronologically, with some of the more notable carpet dress-vertisements. (Note: All pictures per WWD. "Fierce Factor"s, our own judgment of how well the star wore her particular dress, set against how likely the placement is to boost the brand, are awarded on a 1.0-5.0 scale.)

Name: Amy Adams
Film: Enchanted
Dress: Proenza Schouler
Fierce Factor: 4.0
Our Take: Aesthetically, this is the perfect pairing. Adams' red hair and ivory white skin work wonders against the emerald gown. The edgy, classic appeal evokes a more colorful version of John Singer Sargent's "Madame X" or the femme fatale of H. Anglada- Camarasa's "Retrato de Sonia Klamery." Unfortunately, points off for that eye-gouging performance, though the girl did have to pimp her movie. Also, she's not that high-profile. 

Name: Penélope Cruz
Film: No noms this year, most recent was "Volver"
Dress: Chanel
Fierce Factor: 4.5
Our Take: Even so-so dresses look amazing on Penélope Cruz. Not only does the girl have extracurriculars to add to her hotness (Cruz speaks four languages! Name one of her American contempos that can claim that), but she can pull off designs that would look perhaps silly on a lesser body. Straight up: she's a stunner every time with no bad publicity to drag her down. With her small frame and captivating gaze really pronouncing this dress, Karl gets the most out of a rather ho-hum haute couture look.

Name: Cameron Diaz
Film: No noms this year, er, like every other year. Most recently, "Shrek The Third"
Dress: Dior by John Galliano
Fierce Factor: 3.0
Our Take: We will never understand why Diaz always gets Mr. Galliano's best. Don't get us wrong, the girl has a great frame, an established bold-faced name, and she photographs well. That, in and of itself, is worth the plug. But c'mon! Certainly the upper crust clientele doesn't want to share threads with Hollywood's leading empress of the Ditzy Dame shtick, right? And we're not going to hate on the pleats, like E! did. But, at the end of the day, it's a rather dull dress, on a very dull girl.

Name: Marion Cotillard
Film: "La Vie En Rose," WON: Best Actress
Dress: Jean Paul Gaultier
Fierce Factor: 5.0
Our Take: Perfect storm here, folks! Not was this fish-scale detailed mermaid dress equal parts daring and stunning for the red carpet debut, but its wearer walked away with the Best Actress award. And did so with one of the most genuine speeches we've seen in some time from the Oscars! As an added bonus for Mr. Gaultier, she's been the talk of the papers this morning, with pictures abounding. What she'll also likely add to that nice stew is that her figure looks like a real woman (admittedly, a thin woman) and she fills out the dress in a wonderfully tasteful way. This is as good as it gets!

Name: Nicole Kidman
Film: "The Golden Compass"
Dress: Balenciaga
Fierce Factor: 2.5
Our Take: What goes up must also come down, and the real low point (ok, with some obvious exceptions that we'll note later, we're lookin' at YOU, Diablo) came with this unfortunate placement on Nicole Kidman. Even preggers, she has the kind of body (read: alien model-esque) that could really show off some of Nicolas Ghesquiere's more ambitious designs, easily clinching the press coverage for the next day. Instead, she walked the carpet as a pretty, pregnant girl in a pretty boring black dress. And that diamond necklace just looked like a sad, glittery trapeze.

In summation, these were just a few of those that stood out to us last night. But we would be remiss if we didn't mention that, while Keri Russell looked great (as we imagine all women do) in the Nina Ricci gown, we were stunned that the label couldn't get more of an A-lister to work a look, especially following that stunning little yellow dress that worked so well on Reese Witherspoon last year! Also, all of our friends were screaming (screaming!) about Diablo Cody, and not in a good way. The dress was terrible, no wonder the maker has not appeared in any credits we've seen, and she looked like so many tired Betty Page-hipster-wannabes that we see most nights at Beauty Bar. (But we'd like to submit, for the record, that we liked "Juno".) Also, Tilda Swinton didn't do much for that Lanvin dress and that really makes us sad, because we love both of those names! We'll have to chalk that up, like the Kidman debacle mentioned above, to a stylist just making a poor choice, one for which the brand will suffer, or at best, not get any brownie points for.

But hey, we're not bitching in a vacuum people. Drop us a line and let us know what you think, either here, or in the comments below!

UPDATED: The Freestyle World Tour and Reebok's Search for Female Consumers

UPDATE!: Reebok flacks reassure us that "Framed" is full speed ahead. And, what's more, it's now available on Yahoo!Sports and behind-the-scenes footage has been, er, Flickr'd. Congrats! Now, what about that whole "Your Move" campaign?

For those new readers who walked into this convo like a child wandering into the middle of a movie ("You're out of your element Donny!"), check the rhymes below. Note: There won't be any more Big Lebowski references from here on out, for better or for worse...

Been around the world and I, I, I... I can't find my
Reeboks?

Forgive the indulgence of a song we've had stuck in our heads this morning (sometimes shower song sessions can drag into the work world, even for business-minded journos like us!), but it kinda, sorta ties into Reebok's new Freestyle World Tour launch that kicks off Feb. 21. Once again, it's a puzzler. But first, the deets.

Again going after the women's market, Reebok is taking a Nylon-style tour de monde with a new collection of apparel and footwear that will incorporate the particular modes of fashion capitals including Tokyo, Paris, New Delhi (huh?), Madrid, London and New York. Starting tomorrow, the first style, a send up of Tokyo street style with inspiration taken from the city's subway map hits stores. Future releases for each city will roll out as follows:

March 2008—Freestyle Paris, which references the "Can Can" in red, pink and black
May 2008— Freestyle New Delhi, featuring embossed satin and Bollywood-style vibrant color patterns
July 2008—Freestyle Madrid, which references flamenco dancers
Setpember 2008—Freestyle London, featuring an embroidered raven on the heel
November 2008—Freestyle New York, which references our city's unmistakable taxi cabs

All shoes will retail for $85, and the apparel collections that accompany them, which include hoodies, tees, and track jackets, will retail for $28-$75.

The global ad campaign, for which spend was not revealed, will include print, in-store and digital efforts. Somehow "global" just doesn't ring right without the  "TV  spots" tag, but hey, we're traditionalists. Reebok spent $27.5 million on measured media advertising in 2006, and for the first 11 months of 2007, has spent $16.6 million. Below is a list of the pitch women the brand has signed  for the campaign. Full disclosure: We had to look them all up too, so feel free to click the names if you're unfamiliar!

Tokyo—Ai Yasuda                                Madrid—Bimba Bose
Paris—Yelle                                         London—Nikki Beatnik
New Delhi—Sagarika Ghatge                New York—Sheetal Sheth (above, in a spot for the NYC collection)
 
 Since none of the girls here are names that we've heard of—and we'd like to think we're pretty up on things—the campaign is a bit of a puzzler unless they're going for super underground authenticity appeal. But isn't that the kind of marketing that a big brand like Reebok should avoid? Shouldn't Reebok be looking for bigger sales, to grab a larger share of the market and turn around their banking books?

What happened to Scarlett Johannson? And what about that IFC film series, "Framed," that they launched not too long ago.  

And what about the "Your Move" campaign we heard about back in September, when CMO Uli Becker (a straight-talking Adidas alum), told us the following:

"We need our marketing to appreciate where the consumer comes from and make them king of the whole thing as well," Uli Becker, head of global marketing, explained of the brand's "Your Move"  campaign. "It brings the message into one campaign context. Whether we're talking about running or women, we're playing into one equity image of the brand with that single slogan."

For a brand that said it was going to focus on a single, streamlined marketing approach, it doesn't seem to be delivering. "Framed", the "Kool-Aid" collection and, now, the Freestyle World Tour seem diametrically opposed to Becker's statement about a unified message. In fact, it seems like the same kind of mixed messaging that he said, at the time, had been detrimental to Reebok in the past.

Speaking of "Your Move" campaign, why haven't we seen it anywhere yet? Has "Your Move" moved on? Trust that we're on the hunt to find some answers here.

 

Financial Desk: Pre-Announcement of Dismal Q4 and Fiscal 2007 for Liz Claiborne

Ruht-roh...

That's the feeling we get from the latest announcement from the financial office over at Liz Claiborne.

A pre-announcement of Q4 and full-year 2007 earnings forecasts greater-than-expected profit losses prior to the official report due out Feb. 27.

Bear with us as we go through the details. It gets foggier than Pynchon prose at times as you roll down the balance sheet expectations.

For the fourth quarter, the company said it now expects losses of $0.90 to $1.00 per share, with earnings per share of $0.15 to $0.25, compared to earnings  of $0.71 per share in the year-earlier period. Net sales for the fourth quarter are projected at $1.21 billion, down 3% from the prior year.

For the full year, expects losses of $0.25 to $0.35 per share, on the assumption of posting earnings of $1.25 to $1.35 for 2007, a serious dip from earnings of $2.46 a share in 2006. Net sales for 2007 are estimated at about $4.6 billion, down 1.4% from 2006.

It's important to call out that the projects don't include any impact from the sale of the Ellen Tracy brand today, which went to Radius Partners LLC, Westport, Conn., for $27.3 million (plus up to $15 million more, depending on how the brand performs over the next four years). That adds some dollars to the coffers that could help offset some of the expected weakness.

But it's equally important to remember that the  projections don't include the impact of costs associated with the company's efforts to "streamline operations," the shuttering of some of its cosmetics brands, as well as what appear to be the weakened status of those 16 brands the company had under review.

But well, let's let CEO William McComb sort it out. Here's what he had to say.

"While 2007 marked a very difficult period, we see the fundamental in this company heading in the right direction," McComb said in a statement. "This conservative view we are taking in our 2008 guidance-specifically around our Partnered Brands performance—is only prudent given the challenging retail environment."

He also added that "markdown pressure" hit those Partnered Brands—which include Liz Claiborne and Dana Buchman—hard during the quarter, but that they're going on the offensive with recent design deals for Claiborne that include Isaac Mizrahi tackling the women's end and John Bartlett handling men's, as well as licensing Dana Buchman out to Kohl's. For more on that, see here.

On a positive note, it looks like Juicy Couture is doing well, with Q4 comp store sales expected to be up 25%, while the brand jump 23% in sales for the full year. The Lucky brand remains flat against year (hey, it's better than being in the red, people!), though Mexx was down 3% for the quarter and 2% for the year.

AmEx Takes NY Fashion Week Live on the American Express Fashion Network

American Express wants to b