The numbers are AWFUL!
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. fell deep into the red in the fourth quarter and
full year, with losses of $552 million and $985 million, respectively,
on comparable-store sales that dropped more than 30 percent in the
quarter. The numbers came out after the stock market closed, but Wall
Street still took its revenge, sending Penney’s shares down in
after-hours trading by 15.1 percent to $17.96.
In a conference call with analysts, chief executive officer Ron
Johnson issued a mea culpa on some issues and outlined shifts in his
strategy for the retailer’s ongoing turnaround.
“As much as we accomplished last year, we also made some big
mistakes,” he said. “I take personal responsibility for these.
Experience is making mistakes and learning from them. I have learned a
lot....We worked really hard and tried many things to help the customer
understand that she could shop anytime on her terms. But we learned she
prefers a sale. At times she loves the coupon. And always she needs a
reference price.”
READ FULL STORY HERE: WWD
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
NO FASHION'S NIGHT OUT IN 2013
NO FASHION'S NIGHT OUT IN 2013. Fashion's Night Out Dumped in NY!! After four years, Fashion’s Night Out will go on a
hiatus in the U.S. in 2013. THANK GOD! Don't get me wrong, I liked it in 2009, but by 2012 it was just a lot of work.
The event will still be staged in select international cities.
Launched at the height of the 2009 recession in New York, FNO was a celebration of shopping at a time when it was desperately needed to jump-start the city’s economy. After a positive consumer response, the event was held again in 2010, 2011 and 2012. By its fourth year, FNO had expanded to stores in over 500 cities nationwide and 30 cities around the globe.
Nicky Eaton, a spokeswoman for Condé Nast International, confirmed FNO will continue internationally. Vogue editions published by Condé Nast International have been hosting FNO for four years, and this will be its fifth year. She said that 19 countries will be participating in 2013. Thailand and Ukraine will be hosting FNO for the first time.
The event will still be staged in select international cities.
Launched at the height of the 2009 recession in New York, FNO was a celebration of shopping at a time when it was desperately needed to jump-start the city’s economy. After a positive consumer response, the event was held again in 2010, 2011 and 2012. By its fourth year, FNO had expanded to stores in over 500 cities nationwide and 30 cities around the globe.
Nicky Eaton, a spokeswoman for Condé Nast International, confirmed FNO will continue internationally. Vogue editions published by Condé Nast International have been hosting FNO for four years, and this will be its fifth year. She said that 19 countries will be participating in 2013. Thailand and Ukraine will be hosting FNO for the first time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Armani Being Armani...WINNING!!
Giorgio Armani talks fashion for next winter, urges designers to focus on clothes that sell (Antonio Calanni/ Associated Press )
MILAN — Giorgio Armani had the last
word at Milan Fashion Week, and not only where the clothes were concerned.
Speaking to reporters between his two
shows on Monday, the closing day of preview shows for the fall-winter 2013-2014
season, the designer lashed out at some colleagues who in his opinion are more
interested in spectacles than sales.
“One thing is to put on a play, the other is
to create fashion,” Armani said.
“It’s not about models wearing gold
crowns, “ Armani said, taking a jab at Sunday’s show of another design team with its
Byzantine princess motif. “(It’s) about what you can find in the store.”
Armani has said 75 percent of his
second line, Emporio Armani, which showed Saturday, has already been sold.
It may sound like the 78-year-old,
ever-tanned, white-haired designer who put the made-in-Italy label on the
international fashion map in the early 1980s was pontificating. But last
night’s Oscar dress list showed Armani head-to-head with Dior, proof the
designer knows what he’s talking about.
Along with Jessica Chastain and Naomi
Watts, Armani dressed child star and best actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis in
a sparkling navy blue dress with a big back bow from his Armani Junior line.
Noting that new markets, like China,
love the live presentations, he disagreed with those who would do away with
fashion shows altogether. Instead Armani suggested that the format be revisited
to ensure that the clothes are the focal point.
Armani’s latest winter collection on
Monday came almost all in black, with accents of gray, navy and red. The
chic-yet-simple collection spoke to a contemporary woman, who in the designer’s
own words is “a little man, a little woman, and a lot of both.”
Admiring front-row guests included
singer Janet Jackson and a scattering of royalty: Charlene Wittstock, wife of
Prince Albert of Monaco, and Tatiana Blatnik, wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece
and Denmark.
The collection featured ultra-feminine
long skirts in velvet or sequined chiffon, worn with tiny double-breasted or
flared jackets. But the look also came with wide pants, complete with
decorative suspenders. Evening pants were also paired with dazzling sequined
tops.
Armani had more pants, including
jumpsuits and Bermuda shorts, in his collection than most designers this round,
where ladylike skirts and dresses were the preferred look.
Armani’s only concession to eccentric
show stoppers were his funky Russian-inspired felt and furry hats, worn with
every outfit.
“To each his own crown,” the designer
quipped.
See the below in Armani
Monday, February 25, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
LVMH wants Burberry? Not Going To Happen
It's a RUMOR folks...or is it?
Stock markets and industry observers shrugged off reports that LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton might acquire Burberry or Tiffany in order to bolster its slowing revenue growth.
While LVMH, Burberry and Tiffany all declined comment on the speculation, sources close to LVMH said the French luxury giant is unlikely to buy either of the two companies.
On Friday, shares in Burberry gained as much as 3 percent following a Bloomberg report suggesting LVMH is poised to make an acquisition, with analysts touting Burberry and Tiffany as likely and interesting targets.
LVMH stock closed up 1.5 percent Friday. Shares in Burberry Group closed up 1 percent on the London Stock Exchange. Tiffany investors essentially shrugged off the possibility as part of the routine rumor mill — the company’s been the subject of merger talks on and off in the past few years. Shares of Tiffany & Co. inched up nearly 0.2 percent to close at $64.38 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Stock markets and industry observers shrugged off reports that LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton might acquire Burberry or Tiffany in order to bolster its slowing revenue growth.
While LVMH, Burberry and Tiffany all declined comment on the speculation, sources close to LVMH said the French luxury giant is unlikely to buy either of the two companies.
On Friday, shares in Burberry gained as much as 3 percent following a Bloomberg report suggesting LVMH is poised to make an acquisition, with analysts touting Burberry and Tiffany as likely and interesting targets.
LVMH stock closed up 1.5 percent Friday. Shares in Burberry Group closed up 1 percent on the London Stock Exchange. Tiffany investors essentially shrugged off the possibility as part of the routine rumor mill — the company’s been the subject of merger talks on and off in the past few years. Shares of Tiffany & Co. inched up nearly 0.2 percent to close at $64.38 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
HOT Diamonds...really HOT!
Over the past 2 weeks there have been a rash of robberies for Fine Jewelry. I have it on good source that there was a early morning tie-up robbery at Lord & Taylor (Ridge Hill, NY). This weekend two thieves smashed and grabbed at the Four Seasons and in Paris two men held up the De Beers boutique in Printemps department store and made off with jewelry worth between 1 million and 3 million euros,
or $2.7 million and $4 million at current exchange, in the early evening
hours Tuesday.
Armed with handguns and equipped with bulletproof vests, the robbers entered the South African diamond dealer’s stand, located on the first floor of the department store, at around 6:45 p.m., a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office in Paris confirmed. They did not fire their weapons and no one was harmed, she said.
According to French media reports, the thieves left shortly after, nearly unnoticed, through the personnel exit at the back of the store, which could suggest they were familiar with the premises. I'm looking up my Diamonds tonight!!!!
Armed with handguns and equipped with bulletproof vests, the robbers entered the South African diamond dealer’s stand, located on the first floor of the department store, at around 6:45 p.m., a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office in Paris confirmed. They did not fire their weapons and no one was harmed, she said.
According to French media reports, the thieves left shortly after, nearly unnoticed, through the personnel exit at the back of the store, which could suggest they were familiar with the premises. I'm looking up my Diamonds tonight!!!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Next Step in "Retail"; Augmented Reality Shopping
Imagine walking into a store and seeing what you want and then being able to just look at, get your body specks and then buying the item you want. That is the next step in Augmented Reality Shopping. Watch this short and you'll get the idea
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Uniqlo to buy The Gap
Shares of Gap Inc. jumped 7 percent to $33.55 in midday trading today
on rumors that Japanese retail giant Fast Retailing was interested in
buying the company, according to two market observers.
By 2 pm on Wall Street nearly 12 million shares of Gap had traded hands, well above the stock’s average daily trading volume of 5.8 million over the past three months.
Fast Retailing is also an acquisitive company, having most recently bought J Brand Holdings in December, although that was a much smaller deal than a play for the Gap would be.
“Fast Retailing has always had pretty lofty ambitions, and many people say they should buy Gap, if they want to have a U.S. business,” said one financial source. “For them to grow organically and develop a footprint in the U.S., it would take them forever.”
Fast Retailing chief executive officer Tadashi Yanai has said Fast has “billions to spend on acquisitions. This could be the quickest path, but it’s a big big bet.” In 2007, Fast offered $900 million to buy Barneys New York but was rejected. Tadashi Yanai has also said that he plans to open up to 300 Uniqlo stores outside Japan per year.
“At the end of the day, if you are a public company and if somebody puts an offer on the table at a reasonable price, you would be forced to entertain it,” said the financial source. “But Gap is not the kind of company putting out vibes for somebody to acquire them, and there would only be a short list of people capable of buying it.”
One retailer familiar with both Gap and Fast said Tadashi Yanai is “much more interested in building Uniqlo — sounds like there are some rumors around — but if it’s around my strong guess is that it’s truly only rumors.”
By 2 pm on Wall Street nearly 12 million shares of Gap had traded hands, well above the stock’s average daily trading volume of 5.8 million over the past three months.
Fast Retailing is also an acquisitive company, having most recently bought J Brand Holdings in December, although that was a much smaller deal than a play for the Gap would be.
“Fast Retailing has always had pretty lofty ambitions, and many people say they should buy Gap, if they want to have a U.S. business,” said one financial source. “For them to grow organically and develop a footprint in the U.S., it would take them forever.”
Fast Retailing chief executive officer Tadashi Yanai has said Fast has “billions to spend on acquisitions. This could be the quickest path, but it’s a big big bet.” In 2007, Fast offered $900 million to buy Barneys New York but was rejected. Tadashi Yanai has also said that he plans to open up to 300 Uniqlo stores outside Japan per year.
“At the end of the day, if you are a public company and if somebody puts an offer on the table at a reasonable price, you would be forced to entertain it,” said the financial source. “But Gap is not the kind of company putting out vibes for somebody to acquire them, and there would only be a short list of people capable of buying it.”
One retailer familiar with both Gap and Fast said Tadashi Yanai is “much more interested in building Uniqlo — sounds like there are some rumors around — but if it’s around my strong guess is that it’s truly only rumors.”
Friday, February 8, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Burberry Is "Changing The Plaid"...Uh-Oh
In a shakeup of top management at Burberry, the company named
former BBC executive John Smith as chief operating officer, a new post & Stacey Cartwright, its chief
financial officer and a prominent member of the brand's executive team,
would step down from her post after nine years in order to pursue new
interests.
Cartwright, who also holds the title of executive vice-president, is to retain her position on the board until the Burberry’s annual general meeting in July.
Carol Fairweather has been named chief financial officer designate with immediate effect and will become chief financial officer following Cartwright's departure. She will report to Burberry's chief executive officer Angela Ahrendts.
Smith had served as a non-executive director on the Burberry Board since December 2009. He will continue to serve in that capacity until he takes up his new role as an executive director on March 4, and he will report to Ahrendts.
Smith was most recently chief executive of BBC Worldwide from 2005 to 2012, where he oversaw its expansion through the development of global franchises.
“We are thrilled to announce John’s appointment to the new position of chief operating officer, which is an important step in the next phase of Burberry’s development," Ahrendts said in a statement. "His exceptional global brand and media expertise, together with his track record in finance and operations, will be invaluable as we continue to combine proven strategies and innovative execution to drive growth in the mobile digital age."
Fairweather has been with Burberry for six years, most recently as senior vice president, group finance. Prior to joining Burberry, she held senior finance positions at News International Limited and Shandwick plc.
“We thank Stacey for her dedication, commitment, and partnership as we have worked to transform Burberry in recent years, and for her outstanding personal contribution to improving the operational and financial infrastructure of the company. We wish her well in the future," Ahrendts said in a statement.
"We are delighted that one of her key partners, Carol Fairweather, will succeed her. Carol’s deep understanding of the Burberry business and brand, coupled with her strong leadership and financial skills, position her uniquely to drive continued success in this role, while ensuring a seamless transition,” she added.
 |
| John Smith, New Burberry COO |
Cartwright, who also holds the title of executive vice-president, is to retain her position on the board until the Burberry’s annual general meeting in July.
Carol Fairweather has been named chief financial officer designate with immediate effect and will become chief financial officer following Cartwright's departure. She will report to Burberry's chief executive officer Angela Ahrendts.
Smith had served as a non-executive director on the Burberry Board since December 2009. He will continue to serve in that capacity until he takes up his new role as an executive director on March 4, and he will report to Ahrendts.
Smith was most recently chief executive of BBC Worldwide from 2005 to 2012, where he oversaw its expansion through the development of global franchises.
“We are thrilled to announce John’s appointment to the new position of chief operating officer, which is an important step in the next phase of Burberry’s development," Ahrendts said in a statement. "His exceptional global brand and media expertise, together with his track record in finance and operations, will be invaluable as we continue to combine proven strategies and innovative execution to drive growth in the mobile digital age."
Fairweather has been with Burberry for six years, most recently as senior vice president, group finance. Prior to joining Burberry, she held senior finance positions at News International Limited and Shandwick plc.
“We thank Stacey for her dedication, commitment, and partnership as we have worked to transform Burberry in recent years, and for her outstanding personal contribution to improving the operational and financial infrastructure of the company. We wish her well in the future," Ahrendts said in a statement.
"We are delighted that one of her key partners, Carol Fairweather, will succeed her. Carol’s deep understanding of the Burberry business and brand, coupled with her strong leadership and financial skills, position her uniquely to drive continued success in this role, while ensuring a seamless transition,” she added.
Conde Nast, Not So Lucky
The writing has been on the wall for a long time now; Digital has changed the print landscape. Lucky is the latest Condé Nast title to trim its
frequency, cutting back to 10 issues a year from 12. The move follows
Condé Nast’s decision last week to cut the frequency of W to 10 from 12, and the two titles join stablemates Details and Teen Vogue. Brides also recently cut its publishing schedule in half.
For Lucky, the move is part of an ongoing reinvention of the title under editor in chief Brandon Holley. Last month, in an unorthodox move, Condé replaced publisher Marcy Bloom with Gillian Gorman Round, a former beauty industry executive with no prior experience in publishing who joined Condé a year earlier to lead so-called brand development. Round, named general manager in charge of both business and editorial at Lucky, is now tasked with finding a new business model that places greater emphasis on digital.
In January, Condé said Lucky would have a new digital platform in the near future though it didn’t divulge any details about that plan. The spokeswoman said Wednesday they had no announcements to make on that front.
Lucky lost 15 percent of its newsstand sales in the first half of 2012, the most recent data available, according to Alliance for Audited Media, and 20 percent in ad pages for a total of 894, according to Media Industry Newsletter.
This year, it will combine December/January and June/July, and release a special interest publication, similar to 2012’s “The Ultimate Style Guide,” with a second SIP to be released in 2014.
For Lucky, the move is part of an ongoing reinvention of the title under editor in chief Brandon Holley. Last month, in an unorthodox move, Condé replaced publisher Marcy Bloom with Gillian Gorman Round, a former beauty industry executive with no prior experience in publishing who joined Condé a year earlier to lead so-called brand development. Round, named general manager in charge of both business and editorial at Lucky, is now tasked with finding a new business model that places greater emphasis on digital.
In January, Condé said Lucky would have a new digital platform in the near future though it didn’t divulge any details about that plan. The spokeswoman said Wednesday they had no announcements to make on that front.
Lucky lost 15 percent of its newsstand sales in the first half of 2012, the most recent data available, according to Alliance for Audited Media, and 20 percent in ad pages for a total of 894, according to Media Industry Newsletter.
This year, it will combine December/January and June/July, and release a special interest publication, similar to 2012’s “The Ultimate Style Guide,” with a second SIP to be released in 2014.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
C. Wonder Worth $350M...Really?
Tory Burch must be STEWING, because Christopher Burch has found a new partner for C. Wonder.
Boston-based investment giant Fidelity has taken a 10 percent stake in the budding chain, according to sources. One person familiar with the matter said the hedge fund paid $35 million, which would give C. Wonder a lofty $350 million valuation.
C. Wonder is still relatively small, but Burch has laid out ambitious plans for the chain.
Since that start in New York City, the brand has since grown to 10 stores plus pop-up locations.
Burch plans to expand C. Wonder to 50 to 100 stores by the end of 2014, including 20 to 30 doors abroad in markets such as Japan, Germany and Dubai. Ultimately, Burch has said he sees an opportunity to open about 110 stores in the U.S., with a total global footprint of 300 to 350 doors.
In its short life, the brightly colored C. Wonder, which sells apparel and home goods, has garnered more than its share of controversy.
C. Wonder became a point of intense friction between Burch and his ex-wife Tory Burch, who viewed the brand’s stores as aesthetically too similar to her own.
Rumors of a lawsuit swirled for months, but eventually it was Christopher Burch who sued in October, alleging his ex-wife and her employees interfered with his ability to develop C. Wonder. Tory Burch countersued, alleging that her ex-husband used his role as a director at her company to make “copycat” products for C. Wonder.
The awkward affair was ultimately settled late last year when Christopher Burch sold off some of his 28.3 percent stake in the Tory Burch business and the legal tussle was dropped.
That has cleared the way for C. Wonder to press on.
Investors are keen to tap into the potential of brands in the fashion sphere. Kors, which went public in December 2011, is now valued at nearly $11 billion and Tory Burch is now said to be valued at $2.5 billion or more.
Clearly, Fidelity wants to get in on the ground floor with C. Wonder — a somewhat surprising investment for the firm, which is known as one of the largest mutual fund operators in the world, serving more than 20 million people and institutions.
It is not known how often Fidelity invests in small companies such as C. Wonder. The firm’s FMR unit, however, is well known in fashion investment circles. FMR has $5.61 billion invested in apparel and accessories firms, including a $1.08 billion stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc., $948.2 million worth of PVH Corp. stock and a $774.2 million chunk of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.
C. Wonder hasn’t reached the level of those businesses yet, but it has caught the attention of the industry. Burch had a number of retail brands in the works, but in November said he would focus on C. Wonder and Monika Chiang.
Boston-based investment giant Fidelity has taken a 10 percent stake in the budding chain, according to sources. One person familiar with the matter said the hedge fund paid $35 million, which would give C. Wonder a lofty $350 million valuation.
C. Wonder is still relatively small, but Burch has laid out ambitious plans for the chain.
Since that start in New York City, the brand has since grown to 10 stores plus pop-up locations.
Burch plans to expand C. Wonder to 50 to 100 stores by the end of 2014, including 20 to 30 doors abroad in markets such as Japan, Germany and Dubai. Ultimately, Burch has said he sees an opportunity to open about 110 stores in the U.S., with a total global footprint of 300 to 350 doors.
In its short life, the brightly colored C. Wonder, which sells apparel and home goods, has garnered more than its share of controversy.
C. Wonder became a point of intense friction between Burch and his ex-wife Tory Burch, who viewed the brand’s stores as aesthetically too similar to her own.
Rumors of a lawsuit swirled for months, but eventually it was Christopher Burch who sued in October, alleging his ex-wife and her employees interfered with his ability to develop C. Wonder. Tory Burch countersued, alleging that her ex-husband used his role as a director at her company to make “copycat” products for C. Wonder.
The awkward affair was ultimately settled late last year when Christopher Burch sold off some of his 28.3 percent stake in the Tory Burch business and the legal tussle was dropped.
That has cleared the way for C. Wonder to press on.
Investors are keen to tap into the potential of brands in the fashion sphere. Kors, which went public in December 2011, is now valued at nearly $11 billion and Tory Burch is now said to be valued at $2.5 billion or more.
Clearly, Fidelity wants to get in on the ground floor with C. Wonder — a somewhat surprising investment for the firm, which is known as one of the largest mutual fund operators in the world, serving more than 20 million people and institutions.
It is not known how often Fidelity invests in small companies such as C. Wonder. The firm’s FMR unit, however, is well known in fashion investment circles. FMR has $5.61 billion invested in apparel and accessories firms, including a $1.08 billion stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc., $948.2 million worth of PVH Corp. stock and a $774.2 million chunk of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.
C. Wonder hasn’t reached the level of those businesses yet, but it has caught the attention of the industry. Burch had a number of retail brands in the works, but in November said he would focus on C. Wonder and Monika Chiang.
Pinterest...The Next Big Thing?
Fashion retailer H&M is pretty popular on Pinterest—in
spite of itself. Over the last month, the social scrapbooking
platform’s users have pinned, repinned, commented on or liked the
brand’s products 145,000 times, according to Pinterest analytics firm Curalate (H&M is not a client). The problem is, a good number of H&M’s popular pins feature dead links—an increasing problem for retailers, said Curalate.
For example, one H&M dress has been shared on Pinterest nearly
1,200 times in the past 30 days. But clicking on that product’s pin
returns the message,"Sorry, this item is no longer available." Same goes
for a pair of H&M shoes shared more than 2,700 times on Pinterest
in the last month.
"Pinterest is driving a ton of people to [H&M’s] website,
but they can’t buy anything when they get there," said Curalate CEO Apu
Gupta. H&M did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but
the retailer is only one example of more pervasive missed opportunities.
Curalate found that 48 percent of top retailers’ most popular products
on Pinterest link back to expired pages. “We look and go, ‘My God, how
much money are they leaving on the table?’” Gupta said.
So what gives? As far as Gupta sees it, the issue is the way brands are
siloed. Big marketers typically separate their social and digital
marketing teams from e-commerce. "A classic problem of commerce and
marketing not working together," said SapientNitro’s global head of social media Nathaniel Perez.
There’s an easy fix, according to Gupta. At the most basic level,
brands can simply leave any out-of-stock product’s pages live on their
sites, so at least users don’t think they clicked the wrong link or the
site is failing. Of course, another option would be to pay Curalate to
put a mechanism in place to offer an incoming Pinterest user a coupon for another of the retailer’s products, based on current Pinterest popularity.
Curalate’s top competitor in the Pinterest marketing space,
Pinfluencer, is working on a similar product, per its CEO Sharad Verma.
Like Curalate, Verma’s company has developed image-recognition
technology which helps retailers showcase alternative items when pinned
products are out of stock.
For now, the dilemma may belong to retailers, but it could have bigger
implications for Pinterest, which has been lauded as the ideal social
network for commerce. "On Pinterest...it’s all about the products," said
Gupta.
Added Perez: "Most retailers, in my opinion, are not focused on truly leveraging Pinterest for driving transactions."
Friday, February 1, 2013
Rue LaLa In A Tailspin
Rue Lala is trying to find its way but with it's New York office in a freefall what are we to expect. The CMO is gone, the President left and word today of another major exit is BIG NEWS!!!!! I promised my source that I would keep the exit private until announced, but all I can say is that it's BIG!!!
OWS To Protest Interns...Really!?!?
OWS - Leave the interns alone. How are students expected to get experience in the industry!
Protests are not uncommon during fashion week. From designers’ use of animal fur to lack of racial diversity in models, activists have a number of reasons to take issue with the industry. The latest? Unpaid internships. And good old Occupy Wall Street will be demonstrating against them.
OWS has an Intern Labor Rights division, members of which are currently planning to have a visible presence during NYFW between Friday, February 8 and Sunday, February 10. They’re also planning demonstrations for London and Paris fashion weeks, Buzzfeed Shift is reporting.
“I don’t think there will be hundreds — I don’t think it’s going to be that big, but we’d like to have a significant presence,” protest organizer Peter Walsh told Shift’s Amy Odell of the planned NYFW demonstrations. Their hope is to persuade and educate people about the technical illegality of most unpaid fashion internships. “The fashion industry is a for-profit industry — it’s not like they’re working not-for-profit arts organizations. They’re making billions of dollars and the fact that they’re asking their students to donate their labor to these businesses is really outrageous,” Walsh said.
It’s not the first time OWS has showed up at fashion week. Two seasons ago, they tried to shut down the Calvin Klein show to “raise awareness of the 1% Structures behind the Fashion Industry.” It didn’t work.
And we’re not really convinced this will be much more successful–especially without any support from fashion industry establishments. Still, unpaid internships are undeniably a hot-button issue right now, with former Harper’s Bazaar intern Diana Wang’s unprecedented class action lawsuit against Hearst still underway.
If anything, OWS’ efforts will move the ongoing conversation about the often-necessary, but rarely fair unpaid internships in the fashion industry forward.
Protests are not uncommon during fashion week. From designers’ use of animal fur to lack of racial diversity in models, activists have a number of reasons to take issue with the industry. The latest? Unpaid internships. And good old Occupy Wall Street will be demonstrating against them.
OWS has an Intern Labor Rights division, members of which are currently planning to have a visible presence during NYFW between Friday, February 8 and Sunday, February 10. They’re also planning demonstrations for London and Paris fashion weeks, Buzzfeed Shift is reporting.
“I don’t think there will be hundreds — I don’t think it’s going to be that big, but we’d like to have a significant presence,” protest organizer Peter Walsh told Shift’s Amy Odell of the planned NYFW demonstrations. Their hope is to persuade and educate people about the technical illegality of most unpaid fashion internships. “The fashion industry is a for-profit industry — it’s not like they’re working not-for-profit arts organizations. They’re making billions of dollars and the fact that they’re asking their students to donate their labor to these businesses is really outrageous,” Walsh said.
It’s not the first time OWS has showed up at fashion week. Two seasons ago, they tried to shut down the Calvin Klein show to “raise awareness of the 1% Structures behind the Fashion Industry.” It didn’t work.
And we’re not really convinced this will be much more successful–especially without any support from fashion industry establishments. Still, unpaid internships are undeniably a hot-button issue right now, with former Harper’s Bazaar intern Diana Wang’s unprecedented class action lawsuit against Hearst still underway.
If anything, OWS’ efforts will move the ongoing conversation about the often-necessary, but rarely fair unpaid internships in the fashion industry forward.
Dolce and Gabbana's perfume for babies
Luxury retail giant Dolce and Gabbana is set to launch a new perfume. The new fragrance is for babies. The Dolce and Gabbana perfume for babies will be alcohol free and retail at $45.
The fragrance for babies is meant to accentuate the baby's natural smell. Dolce and Gabbana describes the perfume's scent as 'the innocence of childhood.' Most fragrances associated with babies include the scent of powder and lotions. This fragrance aims to be different and includes notes of citrus, melon and honey. The inspiration behind the fragrance was tender moments shared with babies including a baby's first smile.
Stefano Gabbana had recently released an image of the packaging of the perfume in the company's luxury online magazine Swide. The image was captioned with the words 'per I bambini' which means 'for children.'
The fragrance for babies is meant to accentuate the baby's natural smell. Dolce and Gabbana describes the perfume's scent as 'the innocence of childhood.' Most fragrances associated with babies include the scent of powder and lotions. This fragrance aims to be different and includes notes of citrus, melon and honey. The inspiration behind the fragrance was tender moments shared with babies including a baby's first smile.
Stefano Gabbana had recently released an image of the packaging of the perfume in the company's luxury online magazine Swide. The image was captioned with the words 'per I bambini' which means 'for children.'
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