(Daily News)CFDA Award Winners
"It was just one of a night of surprises that proved fashion's in store for a youthquake. For every Brooke Shields and Gwyneth Paltrow, there was Alexa Chung, who sparkled in a demure Marc Jacobs dress, and sometimes "Gossip Girl" star Michelle Trachtenberg, in Rebecca Taylor. Even Marc Jacobs, no spring chicken, walked to the podium to accept his Womenswear Designer of the Year award to the tune of Justin Bieber's "Baby." Jason Wu, 28, had to "pinch himself" when he picked up the Swarovski Womenswear award, which honors emerging talent. Wu's best known for pulling off fashion's greatest feat - dressing Michelle Obama for the Inaugural Ball - at just 26. Of course, leave it to the Olsen twins to defy their youth and swathe themselves like monks. As 26-year-old nominee Alexander Wang put it, "I love fashion because you can't define it." Consider that this generation's motto: With an "anything goes" attitude, the new guard is ready to shake up the status quo." read more
(wwd)Wal-Mart Downplays Apparel
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has lots of plans for the future when it comes to international expansion, but it made one thing absolutely clear at its annual meeting here: apparel isn’t a focus. “Apparel is a small part of our business,” vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said in a Q&A session with the media following the annual meeting Friday. “Sixty percent of our business is in grocery. “While apparel makes a lot of the headlines, it isn’t our [most] important business. Apparel is a work in progress,” he said, repeating a phrase he’s used several times in recent months. “I can summarize it by saying that we are going back to basics in many ways. Basics, as in business basics and basics, literally, in terms of the product itself. We do extremely well when we sell everyday needs for our customers, anything from socks and underwear to jeans and T-shirts. That’s where we excel and that’s where our value proposition can differentiate us from other retailers.” Apparel is important only “because it completes the trip,” Castro-Wright continued. “If you’re buying groceries and consumables and can pick up [soft goods], that’s the model we’re using to enrich the [product] mix and the overall basket.” read more
(wwd)Versace Posts Loss for '09
"Hit by the slump in luxury goods and the extensive restructuring plan masterminded by chief executive officer Giangiacomo Ferraris, Gianni Versace SpA last year had operating losses of 49.6 million euros, or $59.2 million, on a 19 percent fall in sales to 268 million euros, or $320 million. Losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were 2.4 million euros, or $2.7 million, in part due to a slash in Ittierre royalties. Net profit was unavailable. Currency conversions are at current exchange rates. The results confirm a forecast made by Ferraris last fall, when he also predicted flat sales this year but a return to profitability in 2011." read more
Resort Collection 2011:
"Diane von Furstenberg’s girl is “always ready to fly at any time” — just like Diane. So her resort collection, titled La Petite Valise, was full of lightweight, throw-on-and-go goods that drew on DVF classics — here, with a young, sporty spirit. Her signature wrap dress came as a romper; graphic prints were bigger and bolder on men’s wear shirts and boxer shorts, and striped and polka-dot swimwear went well with HotPants."
"With Impressionist colors and technique in mind, Carolina Herrera delivered a resort lineup that felt perfectly apropos for the season’s early spring due date. Silhouettes such as tiered mermaid gowns and sophisticated sheaths were in tune with Herrera’s feminine, formal oeuvre, but they were rendered with a new lightness in sheer organzas and a playful parasol print done in shades of pale pink, mint green and sky blue."
"Always one for whom more is more, Oscar de la Renta included 55 ultrafeminine looks in his resort collection that left all his bases covered. For day, short tweed jackets — many done up in inventive textures — added a trim, tailored layer to skirts, frothy or fluted, while great knitwear and a refreshing chambray, denim and khaki series addressed de la Renta’s more casual constituents. And evening was a grand affair, full of full-skirted ball gowns and elegant columns."