DELLA VALLE’S POLITICS/5 MAIN STREET RETAIL/6-7Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • April 6, 2006 • $2.00

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WWDTHURSDAYSportswear

See Culver, Page 15

Beauty Deal Untangles: Alberto-Culver, Regis Call Off $2.6B MergerBy Molly PriorNEW YORK — The proposed $2.6 billion beauty deal between Alberto-Culver and Regis Corp. ended in an ugly fashion.

Alberto-Culver’s plans to spin off its Sally Beauty and Beauty Systems Group to Regis came to an abrupt halt Wednesday night when Regis terminated the deal after Alberto-Culver said its board no longer supported the transaction.

The proposed deal, announced in January, originally called for Alberto-Culver to merge Sally’s 2,419 stores and BSG’s 822 outlets and 1,244-employee

Inside:Pg. 12

TheWWDList

Top Fashion Web Sites

NEW YORK — Club-kid kitsch hits retail this

summer. Heatherette designers Richie Rich and

Traver Rains are gearing up for the launch of their

new junior collection, to bow in 75 Federated

stores and 25 specialty stores nationwide. The line

retains the designers’ signature look, from puffy

jackets to denim skirts, retailing for less than $100.

Here, the nylon parka and stretch cotton denim

shorts. For more, see page 9.

GENERALRegis Corp. said it terminated a $2.6 billion agreement with Alberto-Cul-ver Co. for the Sally Beauty Co. retail chain.

The AFL-CIO submitted a report to Congress accusing Wal-Mart of investing millions of dollars to block legislative measures on port security.

EYE: An exhibit on Modernism at London’s Victoria & Albert museum shows the genre’s infl uence stretched beyond the art and design elite.

Tod’s ceo Diego Della Valle has emerged as a fi erce critic of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the run-up to national elections.

There’s a commercial revival in town centers, as boutiques proliferate to serve women who fi nd malls a snore and city shopping inconvenient.

DISH: The Diesel Wall project, the Italian denim fi rm’s initiative to support young artists, has been offi cially welcomed to the Berlin art world.

BEAT: Heatherette will launch a young contemporary collection at 75 Federated stores across the U.S., in addition to 25 specialty boutiques.

ACTIVE: As part of an effort to elevate women’s, Nike is launching a collection of support bras and performance innerwear products.

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WWDTHURSDAYSportswear

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WWD.COM

CorrectionsOf the $19 billion women spent on apparel in department stores from February 2005 to January 2006, $14.1 billion went to wom-en’s sportswear, a gain of 9.5 percent from the previous year. In the moderate sportswear area, women spent $5.2 billion, down 3.7 percent from the year before. The numbers were incorrect in a story on page one, Tuesday, due to misinformation provid-ed by Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group.

● ● ●Paul Charron succeeded Jerry Chazen as chief executive of-ficer of Liz Claiborne Inc. in 1996. The date was incorrect in WWD on Wednesday.

● YSL BEAUTE SELLING FACTORY: The PPR-owned YSL Beauté said Wednesday it plans to sell its factory at Bernay, France, and cut 118 jobs from its Neuilly-sur-Seine headquar-ters, resulting in a loss of about 10 percent of its French work-force. “This was a painful decision,” Chantal Roos, YSL Beauté’s chief executive offi cer, told WWD, adding that the reason is a tough competitive environment. The company said it has re-ceived an offer from a fragrance and cosmetic fi rm to acquire the factory. No word on whether Roos would leave the fi rm, but she’s working on a pivotal project to alleviate its fi nancial pressures.

● FILA’S ART PROJECT: For those who want to see the creative process in action, a group of artists and designers will create a wall-size mural this afternoon at the Fila New York flagship on Madison Avenue. Fila teamed up with the New York Collective, working with 11 of its artists to create a limited-edition collec-tion of T-shirts as well as the mural. Sales of the mural, which will be auctioned off at an event this evening, and the T-shirts will benefit the arts organization. Among the artists who par-ticipated in the project are Adhemas Batistas, Pete Hahn, Nam Kim, Dust La Rock, Kasper Ledet, Youth of Tomorrow, Darren Greenblatt, Jimm Lasser, MomiMomi, Larry Mayorga and Linda Zacks. The activewear company plans to work with different artists each season to create limited-edition tops.

In Brief

According to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™, women are spending more and more time browsing the Internet for apparel and spending less time in stores. This begs the question: are women actually purchasing more online, or are they streamlining their in-store shopping experiences with a little online research?

The answer is actually a little bit of both, according to Bob Lamey, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of ShopBop.com, a style-savvy online fashion destination. “Women are definitely browsing more online in addition to buying more, and online retailers are enjoying a robust growth as a result. It was our bet when we started our business that the Internet and brick-and-mortar entities would be complimentary businesses and that is certainly coming to fruition.”

It absolutely appears to be a complimentary process, particularly when you factor in that personal touch many women crave when making their fashion choices. “LucaLuca.com has been mostly used by our out-of-town customers. They call and place their orders on the phone and mention the look numbers they pick,” says Yildiz Blackstone, president of the couture fashion collection based in New York, which has several stores across the country. “In general, the local Luca Luca customers prefer the service experience at our stores. They come by or make appointments with the sales experts to choose their wardrobes for the season.”

“I think the Internet certainly psyches people up before they come shopping in our stores,” considers Kimberly Canzani, Director of Marketing for Manhattan Mall, a shopping venue in New York City’s famous Herald Square. “Consumers are educating themselves before they come in and they know what they are looking for.”

Cultivating individual style is a form of continuing education for many women, and they are utilizing every resource at their disposal for inspiration, information and efficiency, says Shana Lory, Account Planning Director for Renegade Marketing, a consultancy based in New York. “Fashion magazines are for browsing; the internet is for searching. Shopping online makes it easy to compare prices and styles without running yourself ragged; it definitely streamlines the shopping process, especially if you know what you’re looking for.”

According to the Monitor, nearly one in two women claim that they have shopped the Internet for apparel. In the fourth quarter of 2005, female respondents indicated that they spent 95.6 minutes on average browsing online in a given month, up nearly 16 minutes from the same period a year earlier. Lest one think that in-store shopping is losing favor with women, bear in mind that the average 101.7 minutes spent in stores still edges out the time spent browsing online. In fact, female respondents reported to Monitor that they were shopping more often in stores; they responded that they shopped

2.34 times a month on average in the fourth quarter of 2005, up from 1.97 times on average in the fourth quarter of 2004.

“Shopping should be fun,” concludes Canzani from Manhattan Mall. “Having options like getting

the details online and then touching it in a store is a win-win situation. It’s clearly time well spent.”

Speaking of time management, bosses of the world may collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The home looks to be the favored place to use the Internet to shop for apparel, lending a double entendre to the phrase “home page”. Three in four women told the Monitor that they used their home computers for shopping online for apparel; only 6%

indicated that they used the office and 16% indicated both the office and work.

As the Informat ion Age continues to go retail, brands with a clear message and track record of consistency are ahead of the game

with the new breed of informed consumers. “This customer has done her research and she knows her brands and what she likes. When you offer these brands, she will find your site and, eventually, trust you as a credible arbiter of what is cool,” Lamey from

ShopBop.com. “Brand familiarity plays

a large role in a woman’s willingness to buy an article of clothing online. Confidence in the reliability of a brand’s designs and fit give women the reassurance that they need to buy clothing without trying it on first,“ agrees Lory from Renegade Marketing.

You may not be able to see it and feel it or try it on in the store, but you can experience it in the comfort of your own home, which is often the best fitting room of all, asserts Lamey. “There’s no pressure from sales staff and you are able to compare the garment to others in your wardrobe to see if it will work. And if you don’t like what you see, put it in a box and send it back, he contends. “Returning a garment bought online is by and large the same as it is for brick-and-mortar stores.”

Could online shopping for apparel someday eclipse in-store visits? Lory, the trend observer, isn’t so sure. “There’s shopping for pleasure and shopping because you need something. “Pleasure shopping has an emotional facet that is gratifying; it’s enjoyable to meander and browse, to socialize with friends, and to see and touch new merchandise,” she contends. That may likely be true, but any way you look at it, online buying and research for apparel certainly gives new meaning to the phrase “web browser”.

A weekly update on consumer attitudes and behavior based on ongoing research from Cotton Incorporated

™

SHOPPING, OR JUST BROWSING?The Net-Net of Women on the Web

“Women are definitely shopping more and buying

more and online retailers are enjoying robust growth.”

— Bob Lamey,CEO and Co-founder,

ShopBop.com

This story is one in a series of articles based on find-ings from Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor™

tracking research. Appearing Thursdays in these pages, each story will focus on a specific topic as it relates to the American consumer and her attitudes and behavior regarding clothing, appearance, fashion, fiber selection and many other timely, relevant subjects.

‘04 Q4 ‘05 Q4 +/-

None 5.0% 6.2% 1.2%

Less Than 1 Hour 46.0% 41.7% -4.3%

1 – 2 Hours 32.6% 28.6% -4.0%

2 – 4 Hours 10.5% 10.0% -0.5%

4 + Hours 5.9% 13.1% 7.2%

Avg. Minutes 79.7 95.6 15.8

Minutes Spent Browsing the Web for Apparel in a One Month Period

WWD.COMWWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006 3

By Amanda Kaiser

MILAN — Hugo Boss AG opens a women’s wear store here today, the latest step in the German company’s strategy to win over female shoppers.

After a botched debut in women’s apparel in 2001, Boss has reclaimed lost territory in the segment, achieving dou-ble-digit growth over the past few years. Women’s wear sales in 2005 grew 38 percent, and chief executive offi cer Bruno Sälzer said the company’s women’s wear volume should gain another 40 percent this year to reach 135 million euros, or $164.7 million at current exchange.

“We had a diffi cult start for a couple of reasons,” Sälzer said in a phone interview from Boss headquarters in Metzingen, Germany. He said the company has since improved its fi t, fab-ric quality and delivery times.

“I personally don’t think it was a bad women’s line. It just wasn’t a line women expect from Hugo Boss,” he said. “Now women tell us [our] fi t is much better than at the be-ginning.”

Sälzer said Boss has crossover appeal to women since so many of them are already shopping its stores for their boyfriends and husbands.

The store here is the fi fth of the company’s boutiques dedi-cated exclusively to women’s apparel. There are three in Canada, two in Toronto and one in Vancouver. The fourth bou-tique opened last week in Geneva. Sälzer said the company plans to open another fi ve women’s stores by the end of the year. A Newport Beach, Calif., unit will open this fall, the fi rst freestand-ing store on U.S. soil.

But Boss’s women’s wear presence doesn’t end with that dedicated retail channel. The company sells its women’s lines — specifi cally, its more formal Boss Black collection, its trendier Boss Orange line and its fashion-forward Hugo collection — in the corners of some of its men’s stores.

About 62 percent of the brand’s women’s wear sales are at Hugo Boss’s fully owned or franchised stores. The re-mainder of the business is wholesale, through 750 doors in 62 countries. There are 100 points of sale in the U.S., includ-ing Macy’s, Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor.

Sales of women’s wear totaled 95.7 million euros, or $119.63 million, last year, which was 7.3 percent of Boss’s 1.31 billion euros, or $1.64 billion, in consolidated sales. Sälzer reiterated the company’s goal to expand women’s wear sales to 30 percent of total revenues by 2013.

The ceo said the company’s wide range of women’s apparel and accessories makes Hugo Boss a viable competitor with brands as varied as Giorgio Armani, Max Mara and Theory in apparel, and Prada, Gucci and Coach in accessories.

Still, many retail prices in the store here are lower than those of many designer brands. At Boss Orange, a cotton skirt costs about 219 euros, or $267, while a silk bomber jacket fetches 400 euros, or $488. A silk skirt in the Boss Black col-lection costs 364 euros, or $444, and an embroidered fl oral coat sells for as much as 1,126 euros, or $1,373. Handbags at both labels run an average 300 euros, or $366.

The store here is the biggest women’s outlet yet, covering more than 4,000 square feet, 3,000 of which is selling space. It sells Boss Black and Boss Orange, and accessories from both labels. Boss produces 80 percent of its leather goods in-house through factories in Italy and Poland.

In-house architects designed the store. True to the exist-ing retail concept, it has a light and airy feel, with beige and white walls, pale stone fl oors and blushed-steel accents. The Orange and Black collections share dedicated space on both fl oors.

The store is located on Corso Matteotti 8, a busy down-town street that’s home to Brooks Bros., Calvin Klein Collection and Escada stores. Jil Sander, Jimmy Choo and Burberry are also in the neighborhood.

About two years ago, Hugo Boss dedicated a corner in its men’s store here to women’s apparel. It has been shut, now that the women’s store is open. Mario Birocchi, managing director of Hugo Boss Italy, said accessories, jersey knits, shirts and pants sold particularly well there.

“The success convinced me that we should open an ex-clusively women’s store here,” he said.

Hugo Boss AG OpensMilan Women’s Store

By Kristi Ellis

WASHINGTON — The AFL-CIO, in a report it sub-mitted to Congress on Wednesday, accused Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and a retail industry organization of investing millions of dollars to block legislative measures on port security.

In the report, the AFL-CIO charged: “Wal-Mart, America’s largest importer, is using its clout to block new port security measures. Together with its Washington lobbyists and allies, it has pitted its bot-tom line against port and supply chain security.”

Bill Wertz, director of international corporate affairs at Wal-Mart, countered that “we have spent millions of dollars and required our suppliers to spend millions of dollars on various proposals to increase port security.”

The report, titled “Unchecked: How Wal-Mart Uses Its Might to Block Port Security,” said that Wal-Mart, through its trade and lobbying associa-tion, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, has lobbied against the introduction of antiterrorist “smart containers” and electronic seals for cargo containers, independent and regular inspections of its supply chain practices, tougher notifi cation re-quirements for importers and new container-han-dling fees to fund improved port security.

Some of these programs have been initiated, some of the measures have been defeated and oth-ers are pending.

Jonathan Gold, vice president of global supply chain policy for RILA, said, “The report is false and mislead-ing and completely misrepresents our industry.”

In addition to Wal-Mart, RILA primarily repre-sents discounters and mass merchants, such as Target Stores, Gap Inc., Sears Holdings and Limited Brands.

Gold said RILA and its members do not oppose introducing “smart containers” and electronic seals, but believe testing on reliability of such measures is not yet foolproof.

“We encourage further testing of these devices

to ensure overall reliability,” said Gold. Gold said RILA is against third parties being in-

volved in validation of the C-TPAT program — a pub-lic-private initiative through which foreign cargo is prescreened before entering the U.S. so that ship-ments can be expedited — for business confi dentiality reasons. The validation process is handled by Customs and supply chain security specialists. The four-year-old program involves about 5,800 companies, includ-ing most major U.S. retailers and vendors.

Wertz said Wal-Mart was one of the fi rst members of C-TPAT and is in favor of expanding Customs’ Container Security Initiative to more ports around the world.

“This seems to be clearly another example of how the union is singling out Wal-Mart as part of a reputa-tion attack against us,” Wertz said. “I think it is pretty clear that labor’s agenda is to seek in any way, legiti-mate or otherwise, to tarnish Wal-Mart’s reputation.”

As for user fees, Gold said: “The trade as a whole spends billions of dollars on maritime transportation security through Customs duties and other user fees. Before we put new fees in the system, we need to fi rst decide what the fee will go toward and whether fees currently collected for other purposes can be reallocated.”

Gold said RILA strongly opposes increasing phys-ical inspections of 100 percent of all cargo, but sup-ports Customs’ focus on high-risk cargo and would be against any requirements for companies to pub-lish steps they have taken on supply chain security.

The AFL-CIO, which represents port, transporta-tion and emergency and safety workers, said Wal-Mart and RILA have donated millions of dollars, notably to Republican lawmakers, sitting on key committees with jurisdiction over port security to infl uence legislation.

Wertz said, “We may have reservations about certain specifi c proposals... But reasonable people understand that we and others seek to choose the most effective of the various proposals that are advanced.”

AFL-CIO Criticizes Wal-Mart on Port Security

CALVIN’S GIRL: Are Calvin Klein and Kate Moss fl irting again? According to British press reports, Moss has been tapped to star in fall ads for the house. Calvin Klein Inc. executives declined comment on Wednesday, but an announcement could be imminent. London’s Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Moss’ new CKI contract was valued at 500,000 pounds, or about $876,890 at the current exchange rate, and would initially focus on Calvin Klein Jeans, though the model is said to be in negotiations for further contracts with the house. Natalia Vodianova, who has been under contract with the brand since spring 2003, just gave birth to her second child, making this a plausible move. Such a deal would be a sweet homecoming for the scandal-plagued Moss. She was the face of Calvin Klein for eight years, and the company is often credited with turning the model into one of the most famous faces in the world with a slew of provocative ads, including Obsession and Calvin Klein underwear. All this just begs one question: Could a Marky Mark comeback be next?

FREQUENT FLYERS: Cate Blanchett may have played Katharine Hepburn more than two years ago in “The Aviator,” but the actress still feels close to her character. On Tuesday night, Blanchett said honoring Hepburn’s memory and style were the reasons behind her second annual appearance at IWC Schaffhausen’s party held at a Swiss Air hangar during the Salon de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. This year’s party, titled “Grande Soiree Aviateur,” was based on the history of aviation, in celebration of the 138-year-old brand’s release of its new collection of pilots’ watches. The actress joined Orlando Bloom, who wore an IWC watch in his role in “Elizabethtown,” and his girlfriend, Kate Bosworth, but stopped short of creasing her Forties-inspired Viktor & Rolf tan wool suit to hunker down with Bloom in the cockpit of a vintage Spitfi re fi ghter plane. The party drew more than 1,500 people. Bosworth, dressed in a Lela Rose silver minidress, said she’s looking forward to promoting her upcoming fi lm, “Superman Returns,” in which she reinvents Lois Lane for yet another generation. Meanwhile, her boyfriend seems to be evolving into a watch fanatic. He was spotted during the day walking the trade show and spent the evening pointing out a number of models he was coveting to IWC president George Kern.

Fashion Scoops

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., seeking to cultivate its next generation of leaders, said Wednesday that it shifted five key executives into new positions.

Lawrence Jackson, executive vice president of human resources, was named president and chief exec-utive offi cer of the global procurement division, which operates purchasing offi ces in 28 countries. Jackson will oversee an ethical standards team responsible for ensuring that factories making products for Wal-Mart adhere to local labor laws or Wal-Mart standards, whichever are more stringent, the company said.

Linda Dillman, executive vice president and chief in-formation offi cer, was named executive vice president of risk management and benefi ts administration, succeed-ing Chambers. She also will lead the company’s sustain-ability efforts, which have grown with its increased of-ferings of organic products. A former Hewlett-Packard executive, Dillman is known for making Wal-Mart an early user of radio frequency identifi cation tags, a con-troversial initiative that has drawn criticism as well as plaudits for jump-starting the RFID industry.

Susan Chambers, executive vice president of risk management and benefi ts administration, will succeed Jackson. She will be responsible for human resources and the offi ce of diversity. Chambers wrote the now in-famous Wal-Mart memo about ways the company could reduce employee health care costs. Her suggestions in-cluded adding physical activity to job descriptions to discourage unhealthy people from applying.

Both Chambers and Jackson will report to presi-dent and ceo H. Lee Scott Jr.

The job of chief information offi cer will be fi lled by Rollin Ford, executive vice president of logistics and supply chain. Johnnie Dobbs, senior vice president of logistics, overseeing distribution centers in the east-ern U.S. and specialty distribution, will move up to ex-ecutive vice president of logistics and supply chain.

Dillman, Ford and Dobbs will report to John Menzer, Wal-Mart’s vice chairman.

The moves “are good examples of Wal-Mart’s commitment to developing a strong bench, with tal-ent ready to step up and lead this company into the future,” Scott said in a statement.

Wal-Mart Shuffl es Five Key Executives

Hugo Boss is aiming to appeal to female shoppers.

NEW YORK — It’s not often an actress over the age of, say, 19, is told she is too young to play a particular role. But such was the case when Lynn Redgrave, 63, signed on a year ago for Sir Peter Hall’s production of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which opens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music April 18.

“A lot of people say to me, ‘Oh, you’re not old enough to play Lady Bracknell,’ because they’ve got it into their heads that it was a role for an old woman,” Redgrave says by phone from Los Angeles, where the Oscar Wilde play had its premiere in February before traveling east. “Of course it’s not. She’s got a younger daughter that she’s trying to get married.”

Despite the naysayers, Redgrave was eager for the part. It is to Hall — not to her famous thespian parents, Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson — that she owes her professional acting career. Growing up in England, Redgrave was a competitive equestrian and had lined up a job to work with a world-famous show jumper. But when she was 15, she saw Hall’s production of “Twelfth Night,” her favorite Shakespeare play, at Stratford-on-Avon and was immediately swayed toward acting.

It seems particularly fi tting, then, that Redgrave, with her regal bearing and sly wit, should appear in what Hall has told his cast is the most-performed play in the English language. For all its period glory, though, the actress insists it is Wilde’s thoroughly modern resonance that lends the play its popularity.

“You know, the boys seem a bit like sophisticated versions of football jocks going out to fi nd the girls, and the girls are just twisting them around their little fi ngers,” Redgrave says with a laugh. “And Lady Bracknell could be a real bounty-hunting Beverly Hills matron, quite honestly, determined to get the prenuptial agreement in place for her daughter.”

Redgrave has been busy of late. She starred in Merchant Ivory’s “The White Countess” last winter with her sister, Vanessa, and niece Natasha Richardson, and appeared in “The Constant Wife” on Broadway last spring. But the acting world hasn’t always been so kind to her. In 1991, Redgrave found herself with no job and no offers on the horizon. So she concocted one on her own, writing and touring in the one-woman play, “Shakespeare for My Father.” Two years later, it hit Broadway and earned the actress a Tony nod.

“The impulse was to write myself a job at a time when I was going through the doldrums that so many of us do go through, inevitably, when all of a sudden it seems like, where’s the work?” she explains. “And that’s when I discovered, well, I guess I can write!”

She has since penned “The Nightingale” for her actress friend Caroline John, who was also out of work. The play ran in London earlier this year, and Redgrave hopes to star in her own production of it this fall.

And while Redgrave has triumphed over momentary doldrums, she acknowledges the phenomenon is more common among the fairer sex, much to her chagrin. “There is a sort of ageist feeling that you could have an aging hero like Harrison Ford or people like that — sort of like the more crumpled they get, the sexier everybody thinks they are,” she says. “But for some reason, they don’t apply the same feeling to women. And that’s a shame, because it’s just not true.”

— Vanessa Lawrence

WWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006WWD.COM

4

Wilde at Heart

LONDON — Changing the world might sound ambitious for a design movement, but a new exhibition charting the history of Modernism, at the Victoria & Albert museum, shows that the genre’s infl uence stretched far beyond the art and design-loving elite.

The fi rst fi tted kitchen, designed for an Austrian housing project; a Bakelite radio, and an ergonomically designed and mass-produced chair are among the everyday items that are part of the huge show “Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914-1939,” which runs until July 23.

Christopher Wilk, the show’s curator, said Modernism was not a style but a collection of ideas that were, in part, a reaction to the enormous scale of death and destruction during the First World War. “After the outrage and horror, Modernism was set on a path to reinvent society and turn its back on the past,” said Wilk during a walk-through of the show.

Rethinking accepted ideas about aesthetics led architects such as Le Corbusier and artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian to reject historical, decorative design and produce works that championed clean, sleek lines and block colors. The exhibition shows a model of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, which is supported by concrete pillars that allowed for huge windows spanning the entire building and giving it a futuristic, space-age feel.

“The idea was that if you wanted to build a new world, buildings were a pretty good place to start,” said Wilk, adding, though, that since it was easier to construct a Modernist chair than a building, the former were more widespread.

The exhibition gives a wall to a display of the popular “fl oating” chairs that instead of having legs are made of a single frame that bends under the seat.

Many of the pieces in the show are instantly recognizable as modern design classics, such as “Mondrian’s Tableau No. 1” and Marcel Breuer’s “Club Chair,” made with tubular steel and bands of leather.

While utilitarian values were at the heart of the movement, the exhibition also shows Modernism’s ability to communicate with large sections of society, via bright colors, geometric shapes and simple slogans. Advertisers quickly cottoned onto the myriad uses of these images. One poster, by Francis Bernard, advertises a Paris household goods exhibition in which a white silhouette of a female robot, complete with broom, towers over a dowdily dressed couple, urging them to embrace advances in housekeeping.

The images make it clear that there is no denying the enduring power of Modernism. “Our world today was fundamentally changed by Modernism,” Wilk said. “It was the key point of reference for art, design and architecture in the 20th century.”

— Nina Jones

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NEW YORK — Nazgol Jahan, the new worldwide head of jewelry at the Phillips de Pury auction house, is responsible for millions of dollars worth of gems. And yet, as she’s arranging a display in anticipation of her first sale, she casually throws on a tourmaline, amethyst and peridot multistrand necklace. There isn’t space for it in the case, she reasons, and it just happens to match her fuchsia Temperley blouse.

The 28-year-old’s treatment of the piece does not refl ect a lack of respect or responsibility, but rather an unceremonious attitude toward fi ne jewelry that other women her age have begun to adopt. “It was effortless for it to work into my outfi t,” she says. “It’s the way people in our generation wear jewelry right now.”

And Jahan aims to capitalize on that. For her fi rst sale, which will be held on Saturday as part of Saturday@Phillips — a new auction series the house has started with affordable pieces for a younger audience — she’s culled a collection of necklaces, rings and earrings valued from $600 to $8,500. Key pieces are a pair of diamond concentric hoop earrings ($3,000 to $4,000) and a marquise-cut blue topaz and diamond ring ($2,200 to $3,200).

“We’re almost trendsetting with our jewelry,” Jahan says. “When you go into Sotheby’s and Christie’s, the jewelry is old jewelry. It’s not really for people who are concerned with what’s going on in fashion right now. But these pieces will go with what people are buying in the stores right now and what’s on the runways.”

Jahan began studying gemstones as a little girl by accompanying her father, a jewelry manufacturer then based in Alpine, N.J., to auctions and trade shows around the world. She studied art history at Columbia University and then completed her law degree at Brooklyn Law School. “I’ve always known I wanted to be in the jewelry business, but I was also very independent and entrepreneurial,” she says, explaining her divergence into law.

After passing the bar exam, Jahan designed jewelry with her family’s fi rm before Simon de Pury approached her with the idea of reorganizing the New York jewelry department at Phillips (operations had been centered in London for the

last three years). She immediately knew the job was tailor-made for her. “I felt like all my

experience just sort of crystallized in this one position,” explains Jahan.

Next month, she will oversee Phillips’ Magnifi cent Jewels sale in Geneva. The collection will include estate pieces

valued signifi cantly higher than those included in Saturday’s affair. “You are tailoring that sale to the

entire industry of dealers, buyers and collectors,” Jahan says, smiling. “That’s the dream for me. I don’t just appreciate

one type of jewelry. I look at all of it and I just love it.”

— Emily Holt

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGHLynn Redgrave

Nazgol Jahan

A 1933 poster by Francis Bernard.

Smoky topaz earrings by

Gem Palace.

WWD.COMWWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006 5

Diego Della Valle’s Political ProfileBy Amanda Kaiser

MILAN — Late last week, someone set fi re to the en-trance of Tod’s headquarters here. The damage was minimal, and police are still investigating the blaze, but the consensus is that someone is upset with Diego Della Valle, Tod’s president and chief executive offi cer.

Tod’s shoes and handbags are famous the world over. But Della Valle’s political statements are what’s grab-bing newspaper headlines, peppering the talk shows and creating controversy in his native Italy.

Over the past few months, the entrepreneur has emerged as one of the fi ercest critics of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and has become an unlikely star on the Italian political scene in the run-up to the national elections on Sunday and Monday. Della Valle has called Berlusconi a liar, and more recently he de-scribed Berlucsoni’s behavior as arrogant. The prime minister and his supporters are so enraged, they’re talk-ing about boycotting Tod’s products.

Although Della Valle has always denied that he wants to run for offi ce, he appears on TV and in the newspa-per pages as often, if not more often, than many of the country’s leading politicians. While pundits can’t pre-dict how much he’ll infl uence the electorate, Della Valle seems to be on the winning team so far. The most recent published polls indicate that Berlusconi trails his cen-ter-left opponent, Romano Prodi, by 3.5 percent to 5 per-cent. The two candidates faced off in the second of two televised debates this past Monday. And like any keen political follower, Della Valle was sure to be watching.

Della Valle supported and fi nanced Berlusconi back in 1993, when the media and soccer mogul fi rst entered politics and founded his Forza Italia party. But Della Valle, who declined to be interviewed for this article, has said publicly that he’s disillusioned with Berlusconi’s fi ve-year-old government. The prime minister hasn’t kept his campaign promises to create new jobs and stimulate com-panies’ competitiveness, according to the luxury goods ceo. Instead, Berlusconi has abused his power to benefi t himself and his own businesses, Della Valle maintains.

“The thing that scared me the most and that contin-ues to scare me is his talent to convince anyone,” he told La Repubblica last month. “What worries me today is that a lot of people in good faith could believe again in [Berlusconi’s] ghost programs.”

Renato Mannheimer, a leading poll analyst, said Della Valle’s criticisms could infl uence voters.

“To see a great businessman argue with Berlusconi, who himself represents the fi gure of a businessman, can make an impression on people,” he said.

Part of the irony is that Berlusconi earned Italians’ respect with his business acumen. Like Della Valle, he’s a self-made man and an entrepreneur — and the richest man in Italy. His empire, estimated by Forbes to be worth $11 billion, includes the country’s three largest private television networks, publishing house Mondadori, the AC Milan soccer team and numerous other businesses — some of which have created scandals for his government.

Berlusconi has been on the defensive recently, mostly because Italy’s economic growth lags behind that of France and Germany and the country has a debt load that exceeds its gross domestic product. The Italian economy didn’t grow

at all last year, and the government recently downgraded its 2006 growth forecast to 1.3 percent from 1.5 percent.

Last month, the prime minister lashed out at a public meeting of the powerful industrial lobby Confi ndustria. Della Valle sat in the front row at the event in Vicenza, located in the northeast corner of Italy.

An animated and agitated Berlusconi declared that managers should spend more time working and exporting their products than expressing pessimism and following the numerous corruption cases pending against him. He accused the newspapers of skewing to the political left and manipulating economic data to his disadvantage. The prime minister also alleged that any business people with ties to left-wing parties had “skeletons in their closets.”

One of Berlusconi’s fi nal fl ourishes at the conference was a direct attack on Della Valle. On a recent TV pro-gram, the Tod’s ceo said he was once friendly enough with Berlusconi that they addressed one another with the informal “tu” form in Italian. The prime minister evidently interpreted this remark as an insult.

“The only thing I ask of Mr. Della Valle is that if he addresses the prime minister, he uses the lei and not the tu,” Berlusconi quipped at the conference, referring to the more formal address.

Della Valle was spotted shouting “Shame on you” to the stage, his hands fl anking his mouth, like a soccer supporter in a stadium. Truth be told, he wasn’t the only manager making noise. After Berlusconi’s speech, the meeting disintegrated into factions of cheering support-ers and booing dissenters.

“I saw up close a man who has lost control of his

nerves. There is neither a tactic nor a strategy behind it,” Della Valle told La Repubblica in an interview after-ward. “Berlusconi is a person who needs a lot of rest.”

Della Valle stepped down from his position on Confi n-dustria’s executive committee three days after the Berlus coni standoff. He said he didn’t want his personal opinions to be used against Confi ndustria as a whole and its president, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, a close friend of Della Valle’s. Montezemolo, the president of Fiat, is extremely popular in Italy. He made a name for himself running Ferrari, and many consider him a future political contender.

In Italy, Della Valle’s pre-election profi le had already eclipsed that of a standard executive or a self-made man. Buying struggling soccer team Fiorentina and a stake in Italy’s most infl uential newspaper, Corriere Della Sera, catapulted him well beyond the world of luxury goods and into the general consciousness of Italians. He’s also a player in the banking world, retain-ing a minority stake in Banca Nazionale del Lavoro.

Della Valle has rarely bitten his tongue on issues of public debate, whether he was criticizing a spate of re-cent banking scandals or battling in favor of collective TV rights for soccer teams — another point of contention with Berlusconi. Earlier this year, Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party blocked legislation to change the way rights are negotiated by individual teams — a move Della Valle cited as an example of Berlusconi’s confl ict of interest as both a team owner and owner of the nation’s three larg-est private TV networks.

Unlike many politicians and other business people, Della Valle speaks in simple, straightforward language and absolute terms. His speech is sometimes laced with expletives, but it doesn’t sound vulgar because his deliv-ery is so genteel.

The ceo, who has built a 503 million euro, or $616 mil-lion, business at Tod’s, doesn’t veer too far left or right in his political philosophy. He is close friends with Clemente Mastella, leader of the small centrist party Udeur, which is part of Prodi’s left-leaning coalition. Parties like Udeur bridge a highly polarized political spectrum in Italy.

The country is home to one of the biggest Communist parties in Western Europe, as well as several politi-cal movements descending from Fascism. Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of dictator Benito Mussolini, is seeking reelection to her seat in parliament here.

Stefano Folli, an editorialist for newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, said he doesn’t think Della Valle will enter politics, but he is convinced the businessman will remain visible as a public fi gure, regardless of the election outcome.

“Della Valle is someone who will continue to occu-py himself with politics even after a possible defeat of Berlusconi,” Folli predicted.

Still, he warned that Della Valle will have to refi ne his language and approach if he wants to continue to inhabit a public sphere and benefi t from his links to Montezemolo.

It looks like Montezemolo agrees with that assess-ment. Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference last January, Montezemolo said he preferred not to talk about politics for the next few months before the elections. He did, however, offer a suggestion for his friend Della Valle.

“Sometimes he has to be careful,” he warned.

NEW YORK — It took seven months, but when it was finally time for Tod’s to cel-ebrates its newly designed flagship here, the company treated the affair as it does hand-stitched driving shoes: with precision.

For the soiree Tuesday night, co-hosted by The New Yorker, the store’s windows were covered with artist Michael Roberts’ print for the brand, called the T-Logo project, which made its way onto canvas bags and shoes in the spring collection.

Amy Adams, Margherita Missoni, Marina Rust, Dennis Hopper, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Lauren duPont, Renee Rockefeller and Barbara Wilhelm were among those checking out the wares.

DuPont, contemplating options for her spring wardrobe, admired a tote and a pair of peep-toe sandals. Adams confessed to taking a lackadaisical approach to her look. “It’s kind of a mishmash of my closet,” she said, deconstructing her ensemble of jeans, a Juicy Couture blazer and Lela Rose top.

Overseeing it all was Emanuele Della Valle, who contributes to the design of the brand and is the son of Tod’s SpA president and chief executive offi cer Diego Della Valle. “The company is getting to new, higher levels,” boasted Emanuele Della Valle, admiring the 6,000-square-foot store, which reopened in September.

Late last month, Tod’s SpA reported a 38.7 percent hike in profi ts for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, to $66.8 million, while sales rose 19.5 percent, to $628.8 million.

Della Valle revealed the fi rm is exploring entering the eyewear business with both Tod’s and its sister sport luxe brand, Hogan, in a venture with Italian eyewear manufacturing and licensing fi rm Marcolin, in which Diego Della Valle has a stake.

Roger Vivier, the Paris shoe and handbag company, which Tod’s SpA acquired in 2000 and relaunched in 2003 with footwear designer Bruno Frisoni, introduced its fi rst eyewear collection in February at Première Classe.

— Sophia Chabbott and Emily Holt

Tod’s Fetes Redesigned N.Y. Flagship

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By Katherine Bowers

BOSTON — Affluent, stay-at-home moms drop by Grettaluxe in Wellesley, Mass., each day. Part shopping trip and part social call, they admire Chloé jackets, wig-gle into Jimmy Choo sandals and pet the store manager Katie Fessler’s pug, Beverly.

The success of Grettaluxe, which pulls in about $2 million in sales annually, is symbolic of resurgent com-merce in many town centers in metropolitan Boston and beyond, as boutiques proliferate to serve women who fi nd malls a snore and city shopping inconvenient. The store has helped pave the way for Wellesley, where the average annual income tops $113,000, to become such a hot spot that commercial landlords have waiting lists. Locals have dubbed the town “Newbury Street West’’ after Boston’s most fashionable retailing boulevard.

“I can’t tell you how many leases I’ve signed for lo-tions and potions stores, shoe stores and little denim bou-tiques,” said Annette Born, principal with retail consultant Urban/Born Associates, who has made a specialty of plac-ing retailers into street spaces in town centers. “Retailers who thought they wanted to be on Newbury Street are tak-ing a second look at some of these town centers.”

And some national players are doing the same thing. Despite their growing cachet, town centers are some-times diffi cult for national retailers to penetrate be-cause storefronts are built on a smaller scale than those in malls and many are subdivided, which makes it hard for big fi rms to get enough space to fi t their prototypes.

Still, Eileen Fisher, which caters to moneyed Baby Boomers, is opening in Wellesley. Both Fisher and com-petitor Sigrid Olsen, owned by Liz Claiborne Inc. and seeking to have 100 stores by 2007, have made tradition-al town centers part of their retail growth strategy.

“The trend of more boutique shopping is very impor-tant,” said Gordon Thompson, creative director of acces-sories, outerwear and footwear brand Cole Haan, which plans to open 40 to 50 stores during the next two years. “It’s happening everywhere…across the country.”

Thompson said he “wouldn’t rule out” retail loca-tions in town centers. “It doesn’t have to be a huge store, but it can be an important store,” he said. “Retail is dra-matically changing. Streets that were the cool streets for independents are becoming savvy about marketing themselves to [national retail] brands.”

If Cole Haan experiments with and prospers in town centers, it might mean other Nike-owned brands such as Converse and surf lifestyle label Hurley venture there, too. Nike considers Cole Haan a case study in learning more about retailing, Thompson said.

As national players begin to examine suburban Boston, independent merchants are creating mini chains by colo-nizing wealthy towns such as Andover, Cohasset, Concord, Hamilton, Hingham, Marblehead, Newburyport, Newton, Sudbury, Winchester and Wellesley. All of them fall with-in the Interstate 95 or Interstate 495 corridors, major north-south thoroughfares that create half-moons around Boston.

Several Boston-area boutiques also have opened in Providence; Portland, Maine; Portsmouth, N.H., and Connecticut towns such as Farmington, South Windsor and New Canaan. Among the most successful is Jasmine Sola, which is known for colorful windows and caters primarily to twentysomething women. The retailer’s success in Cambridge and Newton and expansion to other metropolitan Boston towns attracted several suit-ors, and the company was bought for $22.5 million last July by the $1.1 billion New York & Co.

Jasmine co-founders Luciano and Stacey Manganella also got stock options linked to overseeing a success-ful national expansion, according to Securities and Exchange Commission fi lings. They opened a store in Miami’s Aventura Mall in February. The Manganellas’ progress with Jasmine Sola is being watched by enter-prising local boutique owners, who consider the couple role models.

“We fi ght the nationals, but we all want to be one,” said Gilda Tunney, owner of French Lessons, an upscale lin-gerie and sportswear boutique in Concord, Newburyport and Hamilton, Mass. She plans to open in another town center this year, and one more next year. The competition has become intense enough that she declined to specify her next location or towns she is considering.

Developers also are eyeing the activity with new interest.

Stephen Karp, chairman and chief executive offi cer of New England Development Co., who developed en-closed malls earlier in his career, has shifted his focus to select town center projects and to lifestyle centers that mimic them.

Karp spent about $38 million last year buying a ma-jority stake in 20 properties in Newburyport, a water-

front village near the New Hampshire border, 40 miles north of Boston. He envisions turning it into the next Nantucket, where he is also a major property owner.

Windover Development, a residential builder based in Manchester, Mass., has begun buying property in North Shore town centers because of empty nesters growing restless in suburban houses.

“We are seeing a trend of people who want to come to town center environments, where they have their shop-ping and restaurants nearby,” said Windover principal Lee Dellicker. “We’re getting a lot of reads that this is what people want.”

The company is spending $15 million on Beverly Depot, mixed-use retail and housing adjacent to the Beverly, Mass., train station, 23 miles north of Boston. Another $5 million is earmarked for renovation of a crum-bling tavern and surrounding buildings for retail and resi-dential units on Main Street in Rowley, Mass., about 30 miles north of Boston. Negotiations also are under way to buy a pair of Main Street addresses in the fi shing village of Gloucester, Mass. Dellicker envisions the Main Street projects as being populated by “active adults,” small res-taurants and independent retailers, several of whom al-ready have called to inquire about space, he said.

Federal Realty, a Rockville, Md.-based developer with a 17.6 million-square-foot portfolio, opened a Boston offi ce in March 2005 specifi cally to acquire

properties in the city’s “fi rst-ring suburbs,” generally defi ned as within I-495, said Don Briggs, vice president of development. The company purchased real estate in Assembly Square in Somerville, Mass., about fi ve miles north of downtown Boston, with plans for a mixed-use development of offi ce, residential and retailing.

The national development scene is beginning to look at 19th-century downtowns for ideas on how to mix re-tail, residential and offi ce spaces to create dynamic, self-sustaining communities, Briggs said, adding that many new housing developments nationwide are cre-ated with a “Main Street” zone. In hopes of attracting home buyers, developers strike deals to bring in a gro-cery store, boutiques and restaurants.

“It’s creating streets and neighborhoods where we can walk, shop, live and work,” Briggs said. “It was how Boston was developed for 200 years, and it’s only been in the last 40 to 50 years that we’ve gotten away from it with malls, power centers and lifestyle malls.”

Main Street “has got something special,’’ said Jasmine Sola’s Stacey Manganella. “It’s not a gigantic store awash in a sea of merchandise. It’s not going to a mall and being in Anywhere, USA.”

Two Boston-area retail players have made a nonmall Main Street positioning central to their marketing and concept.

Crossing Main, a contemporary preppy boutique, and

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Metro Boston town centers like Wellesley are becoming retail destinations.

Manager Katie Fessler (right) helps a customer at Grettaluxe.

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Beauty and Main, a cosmetics and skin care enterprise, feature photographs of community women, rather than professional model shots, in each of their seven stores.

While the fashion-comes-to-Main Street phenomenon is not exclusive to the Boston region, several factors make it particularly prominent. Many church-steeple downtowns, built around town greens, have remained intact. They are often surrounded by meandering roads descended from paths that date to the horse-and-buggy era and don’t lead conveniently to the city.

As a result, town centers have become what real estate consultant Born described as “terrariums” nurturing in-dependent retailers. These boutiques, which charge high-er prices and give fewer discounts than most national ap-parel chains, are patronized by an affl uent population for whom convenience, service and sensibility trumps price.

And there is plenty of money in Boston’s suburbs. The metropolitan area has the highest concentration of mil-lionaires in the U.S. — about one in 20 households, ac-cording to industry research analyzed by Chicago-based investment bank Northern Trust, which recently opened an offi ce in Boston. That number is expected to grow 50 percent in the next fi ve years, the data shows.

Wellesley, Hingham and Andover — positioned 12, 15 and 25 miles west, south and north, respectively, of Boston — are the “Holy Trinity” of town centers because of their affl uence and vibrant shops, Born said.

Wellesley’s rents top out at $65 a square foot, while Hingham’s hover around $50 and Andover commands $35. Their rents make them comparable with the $40 to $60 a square foot on the blocks of Boston’s Newbury Street, near Massachusetts Avenue.

Perhaps the most sought-after is Wellesley, a dynamic mix of chains and independents.

Liam Hurley, director of business development for Haynes Management, one of the largest commercial property owners in Wellesley, has no vacancies. When Talbots left storage space it no longer needed, Hurley found a willing retail tenant even though the basement space is windowless.

Wellesley, which has a population of 26,000 and is the home of the elite Wellesley College, also is redevelop-ing Linden Square, a strip mall formerly anchored by a Roche Bros. grocery store, to make way for more re-tailers. The larger Linden Square will add more than $200,000 in tax revenues annually to town coffers, said municipal planner Meghan Conlon.

Yet some boutique owners in Wellesley have been disappointed.

“People that are coming in are much older than we expected,” said Amy Gubellini, co-owner of Hazel & Grace, which carries Rozae Nichols and other fashion-insider favorites.

The average shopper is 40 to 60 years old and is not

buying the slim-fi tting, hip-slung Antik and Taverniti So jeans Gubellini and partner Jennifer Ginn stocked. “We ended up bringing in a higher-rise denim line, Christopher Blue, which we are not crazy about, but which is selling,” Gubellini said. “Our dilemma is how to buy for [the future]. We don’t want to become a store we didn’t set out to be.”

Cindy Stead, buyer for Betsys, a seven-store chain based in Marblehead, Mass., said she is concerned about the frenzy over town centers.

“It’s getting very competitive,” she said. “I think some areas are even over-retailed.” Ambitious merchants are out driving around looking for “undiscovered” town cen-ters, she said, where there might be a good restaurant or two, perhaps a book or toy store, but no fashion.

Yet many independents talk more about cooperation than competition. The end game is keeping customers in town and away from the mall.

“We all kind of act like miniconcierges, recommend-ing each other if we don’t have what a customer is look-ing for,’’ said Amy Finegold, owner of Dresscode in Andover, Mass., who worked at Jasmine Sola and Louis Boston. “I would much rather do that than send a cus-tomer to the mall.”

In order to compete with the big chains at holiday, Grettaluxe hosted a men-only night in November, during which husbands were plied with beer and pizza while they selected gifts for wives, said manager Fessler.

Savvy boutique owners also capitalize on shoppers’ desires to keep their dollars circulating within the com-munity, nourishing school systems and public works through tax revenue.

“We are also seeing a political statement in people wanting to shop locally, where they know where their money is going,” said Betsys’ Stead. Her Winchester, Mass., store regularly has customers leaning out the car window to do what she jokes is “drive-by” shopping.

“They’ll holler in, ‘I’ll be back,’ as they are dropping a carload of kids somewhere,” she said, adding that the sales staff will ready a few outfi ts in the dressing room.

People “want a sense of place, they want to connect to a vibrant downtown where they can get a cup of coffee and a newspaper,” said Ann Lagasse, principal in Piper Properties, the dominant landlord in Newburyport and now a partner of developer Karp. “They want someplace where they feel comfortable letting their teenager hang out.”

Newburyport’s thriving independent retail scene has been studied by city planners in Plymouth, Salem, Hyannis and other Massachusetts towns hoping to du-plicate their success, Lagasse said.

She said cultivating a dynamic scene has meant leg-work and taking chances on mom-and-pop operators.

“We’d look at our retail mix and, if we didn’t have what we needed, like a good shoe store or something, we’d go fi nd them,” she said. “It’s challenging when you’re not dealing with Starbucks, who you know will pay the rent. We’re not always 100 percent successful.”

French Lessons owner Tunney is one example of an independent that made good in Newburyport.

A self-fi nanced operation like many independents, Tunney parlayed revenues generated in Newburyport into openings in Concord and Hamilton, Mass.

She chose towns with expensive housing, but no fash-ion boutiques or national chains, and ate lots of lunches in her car checking out how women running errands were dressed.

French Lessons has done for Concord what Grettaluxe did for Wellesley. Once jokingly called Ye Olde Concord for its Revolutionary War sites and frumpy Yankee sen-sibility, the town has seen four well-edited fashion in-dependents open within 18 months of French Lessons, carrying $200 denim and $500 cocktail frocks.

Some communities actively resist bigger stores through size ordinances. Wellesley requires special approval for stores of more than 50,000 square feet. Andover blocked a Gap a few years ago.

Yet these towns are generating enough business so that developers are becoming creative about getting in.

Seeing overfl owing demand in the Hingham town center, which houses a Crossing Main, among other shops, Chestnut Hill, Mass.-based developer S.R. Weiner plunked Derby Street Shoppes about three miles away. The development mimics a streetscape with drive-up parking, sidewalks and separate facades for each re-tailer. The Crate & Barrel, for instance, has an industri-al, loft-like exterior, while the Whole Foods is a yellow clapboard affair with a quasi-Martha’s Vineyard fl avor.

Kelly Gifford, a working mother from Cohasset, a neigh-boring town of waterfront mansions, said she was “thrilled” when she found out Derby Street was opening. “This meant I would never have to go to the mall again,” she said. “You get your staples, like Ann Taylor and Banana Republic, but then you have wonderful little boutiques where you can get something really special and different.”

ealthy Towns Lure Retailers

Cindy Stead, buyer for Betsys.

Jennifer Ginn and Amy Gubellini, co-owners of Hazel & Grace.

WWD.COM

Macy’s has found a skinny jeans collection to call its own.Solid London, a Los Angeles-based denim line owned

by Jeff Rudes and stylist Susie Crippen, also owners of the premium line J Brand, has launched exclusively at 11 Macy’s locations in the New York metropolitan area. Solid London rolled into the Impulse department of Macy’s Herald Square fl agship on March 18.

“It’s blowing out,” said Nicole Fischelis, wom-en’s fashion director at Macy’s. “We’re selling it and reordering it.”

Solid London is available in four styles of skin-ny jeans with leg openings that would be classi-fi ed as stovepipes, skinny capris and straight legs. Washes range from shades of indigo to a pure black wash that Fischelis said was selling particu-larly well.

The retail price range of the collection is be-tween $118 and $128.

“It’s a key brand for us. It’s very clean and very fi tted,” said Fischelis, who noted that the denim styles work with romantic blouses, as well as casual T-shirts. “The price point is terrifi c and the quality is superb.”

Macy’s plans to extend its Solid London offering to include corduroys in upcoming seasons. The col-lection now hangs with other premium denim brands such as City of Angels and Hudson Jeans.

— Lauren DeCarlo

The Diesel Wall project, the Italian denim company’s initiative to support up-and-coming artists, has been of-ficially welcomed to the Berlin art world.

The 5,400-square-foot expanse, located on Oranienburgerstrasse, was incorporated into this year’s Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art, and is the only project not exhibiting at one of the Biennial’s multiple venues on Auguststrasse.

In previous editions of the Diesel Wall in Milan and Berlin, young art students chosen to have their work showcased had been selected by a jury put together by Diesel. The task of picking this year’s artist was left to

the Biennial’s curators.Maurizio Cattellan, Massimiliano Gioni and Ali

Subotnick chose Canadian artist Steven Shearer to trans-form the wall into a huge poetry platform. Shearer’s Poems are constructed of song lyrics and the titles of death-metal classics, linked together and stripped of their original con-text for a somewhat apocalyptic effect. So far, the larger-than-life proclamations of “Vomitorium Convulsions” or “Ancestral Necrosodomy” haven’t disrupted traffi c on this thoroughfare in the trendy Berlin Mitte neighborhood, though the Wall did draw its share of onlookers at the Biennial’s crowded opening on March 25.

Diesel is accepting proposals at dieselwall.com for the third edition of the Wall, set for June.

— Melissa Drier

WWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 20068

France’s Uranium Jeans are looking to make a statement.

Uranium has launched a denim line that takes a space-age approach to its designs by embedding fl exible micro screens that relay written messages or animated pictures onto its jeans and T-shirts.

“It’s a fi rst for the apparel industry,” said Nadine Ninin, president of Uranium, who created the label in collaboration with a technology fi rm based in Bordeaux, France. “Advertising and sports indus-tries are already very interested in the product.”

Seeking to make an impact with France’s denim-clad crowd, Ninin picked 40 Rue des Saints-Perès in the heart of Paris’ Saint Germain quarter as the location for the brand’s fi rst boutique, which will bow the middle of this month. The pint-sized store is intended to make customers feel like they have entered a nuclear plant.

“We’re bringing intelligent clothing to the mass-es,” said Kenneth Ward, the Paris-based American artist and designer behind the label. “It’s a take on what clothing may look like in the future.”

The miniature screens exist in various colors and are controlled by a remote control incorpo-rated into the waistband. Messages also can be downloaded from the brand’s Web site or from text messages off cellular phones. The collection, which targets men and women between the ages of 12 and 35, retails for around 250 euros, or $306, for a pair of jeans, while T-shirts retail for 90 euros, or $110.

Uranium is making its way across the pond, as well, with a store to open in Los Angeles by the end of the summer.

— Emilie Marsh

Denim DishUranium’s Voice of Fashion

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Diesel Wall Gets Art World Nod

Solid London Rolls Into Macy’s

Steven Shearer’s design for the Diesel Wall in Berlin.

Uranium’s micro screens display images on jeans and T-shirts.

Solid London at Macy’s Herald Square.

The Uranium Jeans store in Paris.

By Lauren DeCarlo

NEW YORK — Richie Rich and Traver Rains, founders and designers of Heatherette, are channeling their inner 13-year-old girl.

The grown-up club kids will launch a juniors collection this fall at 75 Federated stores across the U.S., in addition to 25 specialty stores such as Nordstrom, Kitson in Los Angeles and Leo in South Beach, Fla., before extending to doors in Canada and Australia. To cap it off, a 707-square-foot Heatherette shop — complete with swinging chandeliers and a piano key fl oor — will open at Macy’s Herald Square here in August.

Rich said he and Rains still think of Heatherette as their “baby,” though now, “she’s going through the seventh grade.”

“She’s a schoolgirl, dressed in her cute plaid skirt,” Rich said of his young contemporary consumer. “But,” he added, “she has that [outfi t] in her backpack that her mom doesn’t know about. And she has her cigarettes. ”

A large part of the collection, to be called Heatherette (the main line now will be known as Heatherette by Rich and Rains) will retail for less than $100. It includes on-trend pieces such

as puffy jackets, tunic and polo tops and denim skirts in sizes 0-16. More expensive outerwear pieces, such as a leather jacket, will retail for $102. Tops will hover around the $16 whole-sale mark and denim will range between $27 and $40 wholesale. The company declined to provide a wholesale projection for the fi rst year.

Although a number of brands have shied away from the category in recent years out of fear that a lower price point would signify lesser quality, Rich thought now was a perfect time to enter the category, which he — and others —now refer to as “young contemporary.” A number of stores, not to mention customers, began asking him when they could expect a younger, lower-priced, commer-cial line. “Not a younger line in age, but rather in price point,” Rich clarifi ed. Even the barista at his local Starbucks was wondering when and where she could fi nd affordable Heatherette merchan-dise since the main collection retails between $350 and $1,200.

The goal from the beginning was to build a permanent junior collection. “We wanted to be able to have 10 deliveries per year because with one, you’re just getting your toes wet. We wanted to think long-term.

“The more you’re involved, the more you lis-ten to people and you realize what the customer and the buyer wants,” he continued. “It’s that Madonna theory: If you want to be revolutionary, you better mean it.”

But the launch of this collection wasn’t without hesitation. Rich said Rains was concerned con-sumers would think they skimped on quality, but Rich quickly assuaged his fears. “I come from the world of growing up and shopping at the mall,” Rich said, noting that design-wise, the approach is entirely different. “When you look at the young contemporary brands, the fabrics they use are very different [from designer collections]. It’s more jer-seys and cotton. Our hoodies feel like they’re made of cashmere, but they’re not. They’re acrylic.”

Admittedly, Rich said he and Rains didn’t have a true business plan mapped out when they launched the brand in 1999. In September 2004, however, the duo created Heatherette LLC when they partnered with Norman and Bruce Weisfeld, managing part-ners of the Weisfeld Group, which is also an inves-tor in Fubu. Rich said he knew Norman “couldn’t be that bad,” when he visited his offi ce for an initial meeting and spied works by famed downtown artist Keith Haring hanging on the wall.

“We ventured out two-and-a-half years ago specifi cally to build a brand,” Rich said of his partnership with the Weisfeld Group. “We wanted to get the higher-end line in the store before we did the big commercial line.”

Heatherette launched at Henri Bendel here with a bang last August. The windows of the Fifth Avenue specialty store were de-signed by photographer David LaChapelle and featured odes to Heatherette muses Paris Hilton as well as Amanda Lepore, who sat in a window for two days applying lipstick at a mock boudoir.

“To the onlooker, Heatherette has always been a bit tongue-in-cheek or they’d say it’s not wearable,” Rich said. “But we started in our studio apartment, then we saw our designs on Gwen Stefani in Us Weekly, then we saw our jeans featured in Vogue,” he said, noting the progression of the brand. “I was elated that our jeans were in Vogue and not some crazy concoction because that’s what we wear every day. This is the evolution we’ve been going through.”

Rich and Rains said the infrastructure in place at the Weisfeld Group has allowed them the ability to manufacture this collection. “Doing a young contemporary collection is exciting, but we defi nitely are antsy about the idea of [a consumer] walking into a department store and not getting the whole concept,” Rich said. “But we recently met Tommy Hilfi ger and our shop [in Federated] is next to his and he gave us the thumbs up.”

Rich and Rains dismissed the idea of licensing the new collection and opted to do it themselves. “The idea of licensing it was tossed around and people approached us, but we were never in this for fi -nancial gain,” Rich said. “We weren’t going to slap the Heatherette name on some line. Our friends still have to love it. Traver and I aren’t sitting on the beach on St. Barth’s. We go to work every day.”

Perhaps this is just the start for Heatherette. This July, Rich said he’d like to have a runway show devoted solely to the juniors line, followed by the runway show during fashion week here in September that will showcase Heatherette by Rich and Rains. He also said that within the year he’d like to launch lingerie, cosmetics, shoes and handbag collections. Then the focus shifts to Tokyo, as that’s where the fi rst Heatherette store is slated to open by the end of this year. “They have such a great eye and no fear over there. They really em-brace Heatherette,” said Rich.

But for now, Rich is focusing on the juniors line. “Our customers are not all models on the runway,” Rich said. “It’s

fun dabbling in reality.”

WWD.COMWWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006 9

The Beat

The Girls’ ClubCotton pants, tank, T-shirt and hoodie. Noir bracelets; Jenne O for Heatherette shoes.

Nylon jacket, stretch cotton polo and cotton terry skirt.

Cotton and Modal tank, wool leggings and wool hat. Noir belt.

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“[It’s] not a younger line in age, but rather in price point.”— Richie Rich, Heatherette

By Damien McGuinness

BERLIN — Puma joined the rush to cash in on soccer’s World Cup with the unveil-ing Wednesday of its new soccer-inspired leisurewear collection.

The women’s and men’s products are being launched in time for the soccer tour-nament, which will be held in locations throughout Germany in June and July, and is a collaboration with charity group United for Africa.

The collection includes T-shirts inspired by the uniforms players will wear, white fi tted sweatpants and sneakers heavily infl uenced by soccer boots. The line is accompanied by matching accessories that fi t the championship’s party atmo-

sphere. Dubbed the viewing kit, a bag with insulated lining is designed to keep three beer bottles cool, while a matching belt has a buckle that doubles as a bottle-opener. The pieces come in various team colors so that fans can mix and match.

The new collection is part of Puma’s multipronged market-ing strategy for the run-up to the World Cup. Although they declined to reveal exact fig-ures, company executives said this year’s marketing budget would be the largest Puma has spent in its 58-year history.

“The World Cup is incred-ibly important for us,” Puma chief executive offi cer Jochen Zeitz said in an interview. “It will give us a chance to get the brand out there and position the label. Of course, it will also be an opportunity for us to in-crease profi ts.”

Puma had sales of $2.2 bil-lion last year. The company is sponsoring 12 of the 36 teams that are playing in the event.

According to Zeitz, soccer has al-ways been a major focus for Puma.

“We were the fi rst label to make football [soccer] clothing acceptable to the fashion mainstream,” he said, citing the company’s previous collab-orative lines with designers such as Jil Sander.

Other companies such as Adidas, Nike and even Prada have been de-veloping items around the World Cup. In June and July, when the fi nals are being held in Berlin, a Puma tram selling the label’s soc-cer leisurewear and staging celeb-rity events will be touring the city. Puma will also have a “soccer head-quarters” in Café Moskau, one of the city’s hippest nightclubs, where concerts and events will be held throughout the summer.

United for Africa, which is made up of 30 German aid organizations and under the patronage of the group’s German president, Horst Köhler, was set up in 2003. Since January, Puma has been working with the charity to raise funds for Africa and increase awareness of the continent’s problems. Zeitz is himself a frequent visitor to Africa, both privately and on business, and speaks Swahili.

In the run-up to the World Cup, Puma will be selling soccer T-shirts that can be customized in the store with different football designs. Seven euros, or $8.60, of the 30-euro, or $36.80, retail price will go directly to United for Africa. White campaign wristbands will also be sold in stores, with 50 percent of the 3-euro price, or $3.68, donated to the charity.

As offi cial sponsors and kit suppliers for eight African soccer teams, Puma sees the joint operation as logical. To mirror this and provide unity with the charity cam-paign, the collection is made up mostly of the three colors shared by the African teams: red, yellow and green.

The United for Africa line, as well as the replicas of the original team uniforms of all 12 Puma-sponsored soccer teams, will be available in the label’s German con-cept stores, the HQ at Café Moskau and the charity tram.

By Melanie Kletter

NEW YORK — Nike is moving to fill a hole in its women’s apparel business with the launch of a new generation of high-tech support bras and performance innerwear.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based athletic giant is becoming more active in a sector long dominated by such brands as Hanes, Champion, Jockey and Fruit of the Loom, and one where Under Armour most recently has generated most of the buzz.

“We are looking to dominate this category,” Mindy Grossman, Nike’s global vice presi-dent of apparel, said in an interview. “We are planning this to be a substan-tial business globally and we see this as a great opportunity for Nike.”

Grossman said the company has spent years developing the collec-tion, which comprises nine pieces: six sports bras and three panty styles.

The crown of the collection is the Revolutionary Support Bra style that is designed to encapsulate each breast and has customization fea-tures such as adjustable straps and back closures. The bra is seamless to reduce chaffi ng and is made of Dri-Fit, Nike’s proprietary fabric that has moisture-management features.

“It has support elements that min-imize breast motion, but not through compression,” Grossman said.

She said all of the bras in the col-lection have molded cups and are created to simulate the body’s natural aesthetic. The six styles are designed for different levels of physical activ-ity, with some created for all-day wear and casual activities and others for moderate or high-im-pact sports. Some go up to size 40E to accommodate women of larger sizes.

The initial offerings are available in three colors: nude, white and black, and the bras retail for $35 to $70.

The Revolutionary Support Bra began reaching Niketown and other stores this month, while the rest of the collection will roll out globally in July.

Nike has had sports bras for some time, but this col-

lection represents a new approach that came about after extensive research, factoring in women of differ-ent ages and sizes. The company did wear-testing on Olympic athletes and others to develop the products, Grossman said.

“We realized that we needed to create not just a bra, but a complete system of support that functions for our athletes, as well as for a broader scope of women,” she said. “We have served women athletes for years, and we sought to redefi ne this category as a critical piece of equipment for her.”

Grossman declined to reveal sales projections for in-nerwear, but said the category is planned to be a multi-million-dollar endeavor. Nike had sales of $10.9 billion in the nine-month period ended Feb. 28.

Women’s sports bras are a steady and strong business, since they are worn by almost all women competing in athletic activities. Last year, the category had sales of $321.1 million, an 11.1 percent increase over 2004, ac-cording to the NPD Group research fi rm. Nike is the

fi fth-largest seller of sports bras by unit. Under Armour has heated up the market for perfor-

mance innerwear in the last few years with its tight-fi t-ting compression tops designed to wick away moisture. While Under Armour’s products initially targeted men, the company now has a growing women’s business that includes innerwear support items and sportswear.

Grossman said Nike’s interest in the category is un-related to Under Armour’s success in the area.

“We have been looking at this category for some time,” she said. “This is not a random project. This is

not a response to anything except to what consumers have said they wanted.”

She said the bras and support products will be ac-companied by special signage, new fi xtures at all points of sale, fi t guides and fi t specialists on-site to help ex-plain the system to consumers. Distribution initially is planned for Nike retail outlets, as well as sporting goods stores and Nordstrom, which has a sizable women’s ac-tivewear department.

WWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 200610WWD.COM

Active Lifestyle

Puma Kicks Off World Cup Collection

Nike Pumps Up Performance Innerwear

Nike is launching an innerwear

system for fall.

The company collaborated with United for Africa.

A casual look from Puma’s

new line.

The Revolutionary Support Bra style fuses fashion and function.

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To learn more, contact:Kate Kelly Smith, VP Publisher,at 212-573-0520

womenshealthmag.com

OF COURSE, CRUNCHES LEAD TO A FLAT STOMACH.

BUT SHE’S AFTER A WELL-ROUNDED LIFE.

There’s a new woman out there who has a

completely new perspective on health. A more

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not about just getting smaller, but living fuller.

It’s about having the strength of body, mind

and character to face any challenge. It’s about

having the courage to try something new. It’s

about having potential and maximizing it. And

at Women’s Health, it’s our goal to make sure

she does. To educate her, to motivate her and

to forever champion her belief that she can

do anything. Because, we believe in her.

WWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 200612

TheWWDListWWD.COM

Retail Therapy Online

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J.C. PENNEY Apparel purchases: 243,000In January, J.C. Penney announced its Web site had reached a milestone that few online retailers have attained: $1 billion in annual sales. “The rapid growth of jcpenney.com into a billion-dollar business is a great tribute to the efforts of the entire J.C. Penney team,” said Myron E. Ullman 3rd, chairman and chief executive offi cer. The company claims it has been a pioneer in integrating the site with its department store and catalogue channels into the concept known as “multichannel” shopping — now an important part of the company’s business strategy. More than 300,000 items, including apparel, are available, while private label brands such as The Original Arizona Jean Co., St. John’s Bay and Worthington are sold on the site.

LANDS’ END Apparel purchases: 147,000In his letter to shareholders last week, Edward Lampert, chairman of Lands’ End owner Sears Holdings, defended the future strategy for his company. One bright spot seems to be the receptiveness of customers to the more complete Lands’ End apparel brand, Lampert pointed out. The chairman wrote, “Our customers are embracing the quality and value represented by Lands’ End. We have provided customers with the ability to order from in-store — either online or by phone — Lands’ End products that would not otherwise be available in the store.”

COLDWATER CREEK Apparel purchases: 166,000Specializing in women’s apparel, jewelry, accessories and gifts, Sandpoint, Idaho-based Coldwater Creek offers merchandise through a number of channels: at retail stores across the country, on the Web site and in its direct-mail catalogues. Its Web site, launched in July 1999, offers the company’s entire line of products and currently represents approximately one-quarter of total company business. The company acknowledges that its customer profi le is a professional woman 35 to 60 years old who “enjoys the ease and convenience of e-commerce and catalogue shopping.”

VICTORIA’S SECRET Apparel purchases: 445,000Though Limited Brands-owned Victoria’s Secret is currently working to expand its beauty business, that doesn’t take away from the popularity of apparel purchases on its Web site. In February, WWD reported that Victoria’s Secret “led the way as a gift destination for Limited Brands Inc. during the holidays, helping the company deliver a 35.7 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profi ts.” Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and chief executive offi cer of Limited Brands, said in a statement regarding its fourth-quarter performance: “Victoria’s Secret, our largest brand, had a solid performance.”

OLD NAVY Apparel purchases: 118,000In February, Gap noted that its online sales increased 20 percent during the fourth quarter, supported by a major redesign of its three brand Web sites: Old Navy, Banana Republic and Gap. Old Navy launched its Web site almost six years ago, and popular features on the site include its “famous $5 shipping,” closer looks at television and print advertisements and sweepstakes for shoppers. In its 2005 annual report, parent company Gap Inc. pointed to Old Navy’s ongoing success with both its maternity and denim lines.

HOME SHOPPING NETWORKApparel purchases: 162,000Celebrities such as Susan Lucci and Patti LaBelle have found a home for their apparel and accessories collections, while other well-established brands such as Nicole Miller, Gloria Vanderbilt and Etienne Aigner also are sold through HSN. In January, hsn.com reorganized its management in an effort to broaden its multichannel opportunities. Said the company in a statement: “The new appointments are part of HSN’s concentrated efforts to continue growing its TV and online business through strategic multichannel initiatives that benefi t both HSN TV and hsn.com. The versatile retail site, which began in 1999, now has grown to represent more than one-fi fth of HSN’s domestic business.”

QVC Apparel purchases: 445,000Selling brands such as Bradley Bayou, Anne Klein and Me by Emme (a clothing line from the plus-sized model), the shopping network is continuing to give women lots of apparel choices. Part of February’s lure might have been the licensed apparel items from the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. In March, QVC bowed “For the Bride and Beyond,” a segment that gives customers gift ideas for the bride-to-be. QVC also launched a beauty catalogue last fall, highlighting makeup and hair product trends for its beauty customers.

EBAYNumber of apparel purchases during the month of February: 2,085,000From Prada to used T-shirts, eBay has become a must-browse for fashion mavens worldwide. For the fourth quarter of 2005, eBay had gross merchandise volume for the clothing, shoes and accessories category of $3.9 billion. In fact, the single highest-priced item sold in the fourth quarter was an Hermès Birkin bag, which went for $28,500. “EBay typically comes out on top in our rankings,” said Heather Dougherty of Nielsen/NetRatings. “There’s clearly a lot of reselling — for apparel, in particular, the prices are of course going to be lower because either there’s liquidation going on or people are clearing their closets.”

EDDIE BAUER Apparel purchases: 108,000At the end of last year, the National Retail Federation ranked the top retailers by customer satisfaction: Eddie Bauer came in 10th. The company distributes a catalogue and sells via its award-winning Web site, while its stores have grown to more than 380 retail and outlet shops throughout North America. The company attributes its success to its guarantee to deliver sincere service and complete satisfaction. WWD also reported in January that Eddie Bauer is one of the latest targets in the sights of strategic and fi nancial players. Financial sources said those eyeing the outdoor lifestyle fi rm are said to include VF Corp., Liz Claiborne, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacifi c Group.

L.L. BEANApparel purchases: 98,000Founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the Freeport, Maine-based company has grown into a global organization with annual sales in excess of $1.4 billion. L.L. Bean’s Web site offers an easy-to-navigate section for women’s apparel, including outerwear, dresses and fi tness collections, among a slew of other products such as totes, bags and organizers. Shoppers can utilize their gift cards on the site, along with the no-annual-fee L.L. Bean Visa card, which offers free regular shipping and handling on all orders.

10SOURCE: NIELSEN/NETRATINGS; *INDICATES A TIE

In September, Forrester Research estimated that online retail sales (defi ned as B2C sales of goods including auctions and travel) will grow to $329 billion in 2010 from $172 billion. Nielsen/NetRatings has provided a ranking of leading retail Web sites by total apparel purchases for the month of February. “We track online purchases by collecting data from confi rmation pages of those purchases — apparel is just one product category that we analyze,” said Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings. She said multichannel retailers such as QVC and eBay are the most dominant, but brick-and-mortar stores such as Old Navy are moving up the rankings. “Cataloguers such as L.L. Bean are also now popping up in the rankings, because it’s such a nice marketing tool,” she added. “Shoppers will browse the catalogue, then come online to make their purchase.” — Cecily Hall

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The top 10 retail Web sites ranked by apparel purchases in February.

WWDDenim In Depth is an all-inclusive look at the denim market. From mass to superpremium labels, established trendsetters to up-and-coming designers, our editors provide industry leaders with the

information they need to capitalize on this thriving sector of the fashion industry. Feature your brand in the special section that’s guaranteed to be referenced as a

planning guide and resource by your most important customers.

For more information, contact Gus Floris, associate publisher, denim and young contemporary at 212-630-4636, Deborah Levy, senior account executive, West Coast, at 323-951-1803, or your WWD sales representative.

WWDMediaWorldwide®

TRUE BLUE

WWDDenim In DepthSection II: May 25

Close: May 9

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14 WWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006

5th & 38th st. SUBLET 5,000 ft.High ceilings - Excellent Condition

Prime Manhattan RE Scott 212-268-8043Search www.manhattanrealty.com

Cheap Warehouse SpacePresently set up as cutting room.

Tables, Feedrail + Lighting included.Approx. 20,000 sq. ft. Will rearrangespace as needed. Call (973) 249-9977

or (646) 732-3861

For Space in Garment Center

Helmsley-Spear, Inc.212-880-0414

Showrooms & LoftsBWAY 7TH AVE SIDE STREETS

Great ’New’ Office Space AvailADAMS & CO. 212-679-5500

Attn: DESIGNERS!We do First Patterns, Drapings, Ladies/Kids, Muslins, Samples, and Small LotProduction. Call: 917-403-9124

Partner/Merger/AllianceContemporary/Missy novelty knitwearco. ( sweaters & knit tops) currentlyselling specialty stores and private label,seeks partner or merge with co. or Chinafactory w/ strong prod’n & backendsupport. knitwearalliance@yahoo.com

PATTERN/SAMPLESReliable. High quality. Low cost. Fastwork. Small/ Lrg production 212-629-4808

PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

All lines, Any styles. Fine Fast Service.Call Sherry 212-719-0622.

PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

Full service shop to the trade.Fine fast work. 212-869-2699.

PTTNS/SMPLS/PRODHigh qlty, reasonable price. Any de-

sign & fabric. Fast work. 212-714-2186

ACCOUNT ADMIN.................80-100K+Target A+ planning, forecasting, salesJennifer Glenn SRI Search 212 465 8300

jennifer@srisearch.com

Administrative Asst.Contemporary sportswear co. seeks

motivated and hardworking assistant.Fax resume to: 212 354-3143

Assistant DesignerExperienced in Eveningwear andworking in design room. Greatopportunity for motivated individual.

Please fax resume to: Betsy & Adam LDT. 212-302-9325

ASSISTANT DESIGNER/TECHNICAL

Leading better separates co. looking fortechnical, organized, motivated, accurate,fast paced go getter. Must have 2 yrsexp working with China, drawing skills,spec, sketch, tech packages, EMB layouts.Fax resume to: 212-302-3872 / Natasha

ASSISTANT WOVENTECHNICAL DESIGNER

We are looking for a detail-oriented, self-motivated individualto join our growing team.Patternmaking degree preferred.

E-mail resume to:Nyong@alfreddunner.netOr call 212-944-6660 Ext: 192

Asst. Production Mgr.Well established women’s dress mfr.looking for individual with Min. 5 yearsexperience in import production. Mustbe computer proficient, very organized,and strong communication skills.

Fax Resume to HR: 212-859-7357

Asst. Tech. DesignerFast paced womenswear manufacturerseeks an aggressive individual with 3years experience. Knowledge of pattern-making and construction a must. Detailoriented and computer literate required.

Fax resume to: 212-302-5763Att. P. L. Division

BOOKKEEPERNYC Apparel Co. seeks exp’d., hands-on,Full-Charge Bookkeeper. Responsiblefor accounting, general ledger, andbank and factoring reconciliations forseveral companies, banking relation-ships, and inventory. Knowledge ofExcel, Lotus, and Peachtree helpful.

Please forward all resumes to:Box# M 1011

c/o Fairchild Classified750 Third Avenue, 5th Fl

New York, NY 10017

BOOKKEEPERSportswear company in Manhattanseeks full-charge Bookkeeper. Musthave knowledge of computers and

factoring. Salary commensurate withexperience. Please fax resume to:

(516) 484-8770

CAD DESIGNERS New York’s premier Textile DesignStudio seeking CAD Designers to joinour dynamic, talented CAD group.Ned Graphics experience required,Yarn Dye experience a Plus.

EXCELLENT SALARY ANDBENEFITS!

Please fax resume in confidenceto Linda @ 212-594-1533

DATA ENTRY/EDIDress mfr is seeking exp’d Data EntryProcessor & EDI Coordinator. Musthave dept store billing & shipping exp.

Please fax resume: (212) 764-3827

DESIGNER ASSISTANTWell est’d NYC based women’ssportswear mfr seeks a DesignerAssistant w/ CAD & design exp. Greatgrowth oppty’s. Please fax or emailresume & salary requirements to: F: 212-868-8189 E: jobnyc1@yahoo.com

Designer/Designer Asst(Costume Jewelry)

Jewelry co. seeks Designer/Design Asst.Duties incl all phases of product devel.Drawing skills, sense of color. Must befluent in Korean to comm w/ overseas.Exp in Jewelry not mandatory (we willtrain). Great oppty for the right person!!

Fax resume to: 201-564-9210or E-mail: youmi@click2moa.com

DESIGN

TECH DESIGNERFor sportswear co. 5+ yrs. experiencein knits/woven/sweater. Knowledge ofpatternmaking & grading. Excellent

overseas communication skills. Pleasefax resume to Wanda @ (212) 840-8355

EDI COORDINATORApparel Co seeks organized person towork in EDI Dept. Prior exp (min 1-2yrs) w/ EDI customer order processing.Responsibilities incldng administeringEDI transmissions (850), ASN (856),Invoices (810) and Routing (753/754).knowledge of printing UCC labels &tickets a must. A/R /chargebacks help-ful. Fax resume 212-840- 8738.

Fashion DesignerLeading women’s intimate apparel coseeks dynamic fashion designer for jrintimates. Candidate must have thor-ough knowledge of Illustrator and 3yrs of design exp. Must be able to workindependently and have strong sensefor current trends. E-mail resume to:

bschweky@saramax.com EOE

FASHION OPPORTUNITIESArtists - Designers - Merchandisers -Production - Sales - Technical - Etc.

Call (212) 643-8090 Fax (212) 643-8127(agcy)

Flame Retardant TechExp’d in all of the FR processes forChildrenswear. Ownership of allflammability testing, tracking andrecord keeping is req’d. Must befamiliar w/ CFR Title 16 Part 1615-1616. Ability to spec out garments andrelease comments to factories. Goodanalytical, organizational and follow-up skills needed. Fax resume w /salaryreq: Attn: Bob at 212-842-4032 EOE

Harve BenardMajor Northern NJ Apparel Co. has

following positions available: Costing Assistant

Prior knowledge of fab, garment con-struction, trim and est. yields. Followup from initial est. to final landing cost.Good figure aptitude. Min. 2-3 yrs. exp.

Production Assistant - Entry LevelPrepare sample packs, data entry,

issue c/t’s, support staffProduction Coordinator

Knowledge of all phases of prod. fromdevelopment to final delivery w/ over-seas factories. Strong follow up, goodcommunication and organizational skills.Far East exp. a must. Min. 3+ yrs. exp.

Import/Export Coordinator Exp. in all phases of import/export pro-cedures. Clear understanding of customsdocumentation, L/C’s and drawbacks.Must be detail oriented, work wellunder pressure and able to work in-dependently. PC exp. Lotus or Excel a must.Fax resume noted with desired position

and salary req. to 973-249-8651 or email to jobs@hbltd.com

EOE/M/F/V/D

Exciting Opportunity!Assistant and Associate Designer

Tommy Hilfiger Handbags and Small Leather Goods, Inc.seeks talented individuals to join our team. The ideal candi-date must have minimum 2-3 years handbag experience increating trend boards, tech packages and knowledge ofhandbag construction. Work well under pressure; havestrong hand sketching ability, organizational skills, proficientin Adobe Illustrator and PhotoShop. Overseas travel may berequired, pleasant working environment and great benefits.

Email: lbaker@dicksonna.com

DressesMerchandising/DesignLooking for the right people

with the right spirit inmerchandising/design.Must have substantial

experience in thebetter dress business.

Please email resumes to:execposition@gmail.com

Technical & Associate DesignersContemporary Sportswear co seeksTech Designer-Must have Knowledgeof working w/overseas Factories, fit-ting, specing, grading & know Excel.Designer-must know Illustrator &Photoshop, Specs. Email Resume:

Qaiser@fashiontrendsny.com

MAGASCHONI APPAREL GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER

is seeking candidates that have strongbackground/knowledge in all phases ofwoven, cut/sew and sweater production.Must have yarn, fabric knowledge, beable to interact with buyers/ designteam, be excellent at follow up withT&A /LD/ fit samples and be familiarwith costing. candidates must havestrong organizational skills, able tocommunicate with overseas offices/vendors, be computer literate anddetail oriented. Must have 6 yrs min. exp.

Associate KNITWEAR DESIGNERCandidates needed for contemporarydesign driven private label company.Must have min 3 yrs. exp. in full fashionsweaters and knitwear and have amodern taste level. Must be able towork directly with buyers and overseasoffice. Must be computer literate.

Pls email resumes topaul.mcdonough@magaschoni.com

or fax to 509-757-7814

MERCHANDISERWell established ladies moderatesportswear co. seeks experiencedhands on person to lead merchandiseteam. Outstanding opportunity. Allresumes strictly confidential. Pleasefax resume Attn Nicholas 212-869-3671

PATTERNMAKERCouture Co. seeks experienced, well

organized team player with backroomresponsibilities. Able to create from

sketch thru finish. Fax Resume:212-481-1968

Patternmaker

First Patternmaker/DraperWell est’d. Dress/Sportswear Co. seeks anexp’d. Patternmaker/Draper. Must be ableto cut & drape off sketches. Please Faxresumes to: 212-768-1301

PatternmakerLooking for a motivated, eagerpatternmaker ready for the next level.Come join a young, contemporarysportswear company on the rise. Excellentsalary and benefits. Fax/email resumeto (212) 947-6480/ rinarossi@aol.com.

PATTERNMAKERMin 6 yrs exp in 1st and productionpatterns for women’s sportswear co.Must know factory production process,be able to communicate with factoriesoverseas & working under tight deadline.

DESIGN ASSISTANTExcellent sketching capability andknowledge in garment construction.Excellent communication skills anddetail oriented. Proficient in Illustratorand Photoshop.

TWINKLEFax resume: (212) 625-8712 Attn: HR

Marketing AssociateExperienced

Steve Madden has an exciting oppor-tunity available in our Marketing department. Ideal candidates willhave great fashion sense & contactportfolio, 2 years experience infashion retail, special events, or PR.Excellent communication & computerskills required. Travel a must. Weoffer excellent benefits & a competitivesalary. Please send resume to: humanresources@stevemadden.com

Steve Madden, Ltd.EOE

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Jeans wear importer seeks detailoriented individual for fast paced NYoffice. Computer skills a must Minimumwork experience 1 year in industry.Please fax resume w/salary requirements :

212-391-2821

Production Assistant/Showroom Sample CoordBusy NY showroom seeks a detailoriented, highly motivated individualw/ strong organizational skills to overseeall showroom samples. This will involvesending samples to accounts and road-shows, updating linesheets and specialprojects. PC literate a must. We offeran excellent benefits pkg. Please sendresume w/ salary req to

jobs@hbltd.comor fax to 973-249-8651.

EOE/M/F/V/D.

Production AsstResponsibilities include heavy commu-nication between overseas agents,suppliers and private label retailers.Knowledge of dept store, private labeland Wal-Mart procedures preferred.Tracking / follow up orders, samplesand lab testing after order placement.General computer skills req’d; Outlook,Word, Excel. 401K. Health benefits.EOE. Fax res: 212-686-4336 Attn: HR

PRODUCTIONCOORDINATOR ASST.Womens Apparel Co. seeking exp. (min. 3years) detail oriented person to assistwith all aspects of production followup. Must have good communicationand computer skills.

Please fax resume to212-382-2421 Attn: Alyssa

SAMPLEMAKEREveningwear/Bridal company is lookingfor samplemakers. Min. 10 years exp.Please fax your resume: 212.629.3004

SEWERWoman’s couture company seeks highly

skilled exp’d individual. Knowledge of alltypes of fabrics. Emphasis on evening.

Cutting a plus . Call 212-869-2296

Tech Design / QCWomens/Girls Swimwear Imptr. seeksindividual to track & review samples,

attend fittings Daily comm. overseas. 30KEmail resume: swimjob@yahoo.com

Technical Designer

VIVIENNE TAMTechnical Designer

Seeking candidate w/ min. 5 yrs. exp.in Women’s Designer Market, mustpossess expert knowledge of Spec &Fit. Overseas comm. w/HK & Chinafactories req. Knowledge of Mandarina plus.

E-mail resume w/sal. req. to :Brian@viviennetam.com

WWD.COMWWD, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2006 15

WEEKLIES STILL SMOKING: Celebrity Living may be dead, but the weekly gossip category is still defying predictions of a market crash. Sales projections based on scan data from a sampling of retailers paint the fi rst quarter of 2006 as one of the best three-month periods to date for the category as a whole. According to one company’s estimates, People, Us Weekly, Star, In Touch and Life & Style combined for around 5.25 million copies per week in the fi rst quarter, compared with 4.8 million for the same group a year ago. Of those titles, only Star saw a drop in its newsstand average, sinking 8 percent to 803,000. (A Star spokeswoman declined to comment on that fi gure.) About half the category’s growth can be attributed to Life & Style, which averaged just under 650,000 in fi rst-quarter ’06, up from 415,000 in ’05. People, Us and In Touch all appear to have clawed out modest year-over-year gains — no mean feat considering fi rst-quarter ’05 was when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston broke up, an event Kent Brownridge, then general manager of Wenner Media, termed “our tsunami.” The biggest stories of this year so far, by contrast, have been Britney Spears’ second pregnancy and the dissolution of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ union — both of which continue to be denied by their publicists.

Meanwhile, OK, which is too new for year-over-year comparisons, has learned that cutting your price can have big benefi ts. Since the magazine reduced its cover price to $1.99 from $3.29 in February, average weekly single-copy sales have zoomed to between 360,000 and 400,000 from around 250,000. The improvement has convinced OK to extend the price test, which was originally planned to conclude next month, for at least two more months, according to editor in chief Sarah Ivens. “It’s a great way to persuade people to try out a new product, and the good news is

they like it once they’ve read it,” she said, via e-mail. As it happens, Ivens recently got an extension of her own: a new contract. “I was never leaving, and no one else was reviewed for the job, but it’s great to get it all signed, sealed and announced.”

— Jeff Bercovici

GUEST AGAIN: Speaking of the stars, several celebrity publicists were taken aback this week when they received an e-mail inviting them to send their clients to the launch party for Bonnie Fuller’s new book, “The Joys of Much Too Much.” The event doubles as a celebration of the second anniversary of the relaunch of Star magazine, which Fuller oversees in her capacity as editorial director of American Media. With Star tending to inspire no warm fuzzies among Hollywood types or their publicists, the invitees responded with a degree of sarcasm. “I’m sure Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson would love to attend,” said one. “However, according to Star, they’re both fi ve months pregnant.”

— J.B.

THE JETTISONED: Time Inc. employees have the jitters all over again as the company prepares for its third round of layoffs in less than six months. On Wednesday, Gawker.com broke the news that more cuts could happen as soon as Friday — a scenario several sources at Time Inc. confi rmed to WWD. It is unclear if this pink slip session will match the 105 staffers let go by Time Inc. in December, or the roughly 100 shed through voluntary buyouts and layoffs in January, but one insider stressed that “edit numbers will be small” this time around.

Time Inc.’s public relations departments, on the other hand, are not likely to fare as well. One insider expected to see the p.r. staffs of Real Simple, In Style and Essence slashed and the remaining staffers combined into one group that would handle all three titles.

A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.

— Sara James

MEMO PADCulver, Regis Nix MergerContinued from page onesales force into Regis’ $4.5 billion salon business, which operates under the Regis, Supercuts, Vidal Sassoon and Trade Secret banners.

Naming a litany of Regis’ fi nan-cial vulnerabilities, Alberto-Culver’s board unanimously voted that it could no longer recommend the plan.

The $3.5 billion Alberto-Culver pointed to Regis’ two consecutive earn-ings shortfall announcements since the two fi rms entered into the merger agree-ment, significant revisions to Regis’ fi nancial forecasts, uncertainty about Regis’ fi scal 2007 outlook and differenc-es in operating approaches as the rea-sons for not going ahead with the deal.

Under the terms of the merger, Regis could have taken five busi-ness days to decide whether to termi-nate the deal or have Alberto-Culver shareholders vote on the transaction. Winning over shareholders may have been diffi cult given that nearly 15 per-cent of the company stock is family owned, noted Linda Bolton Weiser of Oppenheimer & Co. She added that, because Alberto-Culver’s board took away its blessing, the merger agree-ment requires the company to pay Regis a termination fee of $50 million.

The original deal called for Alberto-Culver’s shareholders to receive 0.6 shares of Regis for each Alberto share owned. A special cash dividend of $3 also was planned since Sally Beauty was due to get a $400 million loan from Alberto-Culver prior to the merger.

But the Melrose Park, Ill.-based Alberto-Culver hinted it was second-guessing the union in a statement issued March 22 that said: “Alberto-

Culver also said today that its board of directors is reviewing recent infor-mation regarding Regis’ third-quarter results and revised outlook for the fi s-cal fourth quarter and 2006 fi scal year. Alberto-Culver said it may comment further, as appropriate, after its board of directors has completed its review.”

Asked whether Alberto-Culver will seek another suitor for Sally Beauty and BSG, a company spokesman replied: “It’s certainly an option,” adding that one of the main rationales for splitting the two businesses was confl ict of inter-est between the group’s consumer prod-ucts business and distribution arm.

Weiser noted that Alberto-Culver could still decide to spin off Sally Beauty, and named L’Oréal as a po-tential suitor. L’Oréal, under new chief executive Jean-Paul Agon, has become more aggressive on the ac-quisition front, recently buying Body Shop International and the skin tis-sue producer SkinEthic.

Alberto-Culver will have to shelve plans to focus solely on its consumer products business.

Speaking at the Bank of America consumer products conference last month, Alberto-Culver’s president of consumer products worldwide, V. James Marino, declared, “We will go back to our roots as a consumer prod-ucts company.”

Had the transaction gone through, Howard B. Bernick, Alberto-Culver’s president and ceo, was to retire and join Regis’ board as non-executive chair-man, and Marino would have replaced Bernick as president and ceo. A com-pany spokesman said Bernick will re-main a ceo and Marino will continue to run the consumer products business.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVELuxury Italian Leathergoods brand seeks strong wholesalesales professional to join our team. Energetic and highlymotivated candidates must have established relationshipswith major department and specialty stores and the abilityto bring in new accounts. Extensive experience required inBridge/Designer Handbags. Candidates must have polishedpresentation skills, effective communication skills, & extremelygood analytical and retail math skills. At least 4 years exp.in sales and account maintenance and bachelor’s degreeare required. E-mail resume and salary requirements to:

personnel@furlausa.com(Please be sure to list Account Executive in subject box)

Immediate Need for Qualified CandidatesMID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL SALES LEADER

Well-est’d high-end women’s apparel co. is looking for highly qualifiedcandidates for the position of Mid - Atlantic Regional Sales Leader. Theposition requires strong leadership, sales management and marketing skills.

Responsibilities include:Coordinating and leading a Sales Mgmt Team in the recruitment, training,and performance management of District Sales Teams. Compensationincludes excellent salary, bonus opportunity and full company benefits.

Please fax resume to Ellyn Cooley @ (828) 286-4628

SALESPERSON/MERCHANDISEREstablished Junior Importerseeking person with strongaccount relationships withWal-Mart, Target, Kohl’sand other major departmentand chain stores. Tremendousopportunity for superstarquality individual.

Email resume toJEFARL22@yahoo.com

ACCOUNT MANAGER..............80-110KSales, forecasting, budgeting Target A+Jennifer Glenn SRI Search 212 465 8300

jennifer@srisearch.com

Exciting Sales OpptyEst’d childrenswear co seeks sales repwith min 5 yrs exp. Must have solid ac-count base w/ strong contacts. Knowl-edge of private label & marketing.Competitive package. Fax 212-904-1846email: freddy@simonkidswear.com

FASHIONHAUSLeading International Designer Show-room is looking for Sales Manager andPublic Relations / Sales Executive.

SALES MANAGERCandidates must possess a minimumof 3 to 5 years experience in wholesalesales or retail buying office of luxuryfashion brand or designer collection.

PUBLIC RELATIONS andSALES EXECUTIVE

Candidates must possess excellent com-munication skills and a minimum of 2years public relations/sales experience.E-mail resumes attention Jane Park at:

work@fashionhaus.com

SALES EXECUTIVEOPPORTUNITY

Updated contemporary missy line lookingfor a hard working, energetic person towork with specialty and major stores.Must be free to travel markets across the US. Fax cover letter & resume: 212-730-7872

SALESLeading women’s bridge apparel coseeks acct exec. Must have min 5yrsw/ strong specialty stores following.Ability to travel & do Regional marketsa must. Fax /E-mail res 212-840-0205

shantak@terijonsports.com

SALES MGR/BRAND MANAGER/to $200k JR. DENIM COLLECTION

Great oppty for Brand Mgr of Jr. Div. w/$30-$50 Mil projections. This is a BrandedJr. Collection (hanging w/XOXO, Ram-page, DKNY etc). You must have currentJR. Sportswear expr selling to Dept.(FED) & Speciality stores.E-mail resume: cburke@ccburke.com(Fax) 917-591-2521 (Tel) 212-532-5313

Sales – National AccountsNationally recognized, top quality uni-form mfr seeks an exp’d National AcctsRep to work out of the Dallas TX area.Proven sales pro with exp. in hospitalityand identity apparel national accountprograms will get top pay and great

benefits. Please e-mail resume toExecrecuiter232@hotmail.com

Not an agency. EOE

Sales PeopleHighly developed Sweater & Knit Co.seeks people who want to grow withus. Please Fax resumes to Howard Kornat: 212-221-3480

Special SizeSales Executive

Sunny Leigh, is expanding their specialsize business & if you are a self motivatorw/a minimum of 5 yrs exp. in the specialsize market w/major department storeswe want you!! This is a great opportunity.Email: Melanie@allisontaylorfyc.com

Fax: 212-302-3872

Tag & Label RepsEarn a higher commission

on your accounts.Call Jacob Kono @ (201) 902-9925

TOP NOTCH SALESMissy Better Sweater & Knit Relat-ed Company seeks aggressive &highly motivated individual withMajor Dept/Chain store following.Complete knowledge of organizing& running business a plus.

Please fax resume to: 212-302-7672Or Call Charman at: 212-302-0444

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A ROAD REP &FABULOUS SHOWROOM?

Estd reps w/ 30 yrs exp currently seekingadd’l contemp. betterwear collections.

ATL - SE (RICK & SARAH MILLER)Atrium Location 9th Fl. Call (404) 525-1707millerappl@aol.com Fax: 404-527-7070

INGENUITYEstablished fast growing company isseeking sales rep in New England andthe west coast. Must have existingrelationship w/ specialty stores. Pleasefax or e-mail resumes to Morris @ 204-943-5083 / morrissh@jmjingenuity.com

Starting price $1.00, Knit Tops, Blanks,Embellished. First Quality, Junior,

Missy Factory direct, Commission Plus,all Territories. Fax 718-401-8003.

landmarkusa@verizon.net

DESIGNER / SENIOR LEVELDresses/Sportswear exp’d, Domestic/Import. Great with prints, color and

embellishments. Concept thru prod’n.Contact with China, traveled to India.

Call: (845) 496-6750

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