By: Stefanie Keto
J. C. Penney’s new leader has a vision for tomorrow’s shopping experience. But the retailer is still stuck with yesterday’s stores.
Ron Johnson, who oversaw Apple’s retail strategy before starting at Penney this fall, said on Wednesday that his first steps as chief executive would be to get rid of the nonstop promotions at the store and move to three kinds of prices (everyday, monthly specials and clearance). He announced a new designer partnership with Nanette Lepore, and a new spokeswoman and advertising star, Ellen DeGeneres. He also introduced a new logo, and new color-saturated advertisements that barely mention price.
Within four years, he said, the stores would be completely redone, each divided into about 100 small boutiques with a service center that he called “town square” at the center. “We haven’t given the customer enough reasons to love us,” he said in an interview.
By: Stefanie Keto
MILAN, Italy, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — The Milan men’s wear fashion week ended on Tuesday with major houses presenting ideas for an unfailingly chic but also relaxing style.
The preview showings for the 2012/2013 winter in the Italian fashion capital offered a mix of traditional elegance and practical comfort to the new metropolitan gentleman who prepares for the next cold season.
Transferring top drawer clothing into casual wear was a difficult task achieved by leading designers who showed how to always dress appropriately without forgetting to keep a fancy side in the closet.
Giorgio Armani’s collection adjusted classic urban color pattern to the comfort theme, lightening tradition with boulder grays and bright sky blues, which reminded of ski resorts’ tints in the Italian mountains.
By: Stefanie Keto
The stock has risen sharply on the double-breasted suit, that vestige of the all mighty power-suit era. Though the linebacker-like shoulders have had the air let out of them and the jacket shape is significantly softer, that signature button stance remains the same.
By: Stefanie Keto
Although most events are aimed at trade representatives and the fashion press, there is a specific effort to draw in the public, with a series of “Showroom Days” where various exhibitions, fashion shows and performances will be open to all. Escada Sport will be the first big name to put models on the runway, with its show at the Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday, while German designer Michael Michalsky is set to close the week on Friday with a show at the Tempodrome venue, usually used for concerts. Potsdamer Platz metro station will be temporarily turned into a runway by Unrath & Strano, while Chinese designer Wang Yutao will make his European debut with a show.
By: Stefanie Keto
MILAN, Italy, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — The Milan men’s wear fashion week ended on Tuesday with major houses presenting ideas for an unfailingly chic but also relaxing style. The preview showings for the 2012/2013 winter in the Italian fashion capital offered a mix of traditional elegance and practical comfort to the new metropolitan gentleman who prepares for the next cold season. Transferring top drawer clothing into casual wear was a difficult task achieved by leading designers who showed how to always dress appropriately without forgetting to keep a fancy side in the closet. Giorgio Armani’s collection adjusted classic urban color pattern to the comfort theme, lightening tradition with boulder grays and bright sky blues, which reminded of ski resorts’ tints in the Italian mountains.
By: Stefanie Keto
Changing the way we make clothes could reduce our impact on the environment. From shoes made out of car tyres in Ethiopia to fabric produced from stinging nettles in The Netherlands, France 24 looks at how both protecting the environment and sporting the latest trends is possible
By: Stefanie Keto
TAKORADI, Ghana, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — Ghanaian textile dealers on Tuesday called on the government to strengthen security to prevent textile smuggling across the borders. The Cloth Sellers Association (CSA) in Sekondi-Takoradi said in a statement that tight security at the sea, land and air entry points of the country would rather discourage the influx of foreign textiles on the local market. They argued that they, as sellers, buy wax prints in the country for sale and not outside, therefore, it would be wrong for them to be held responsible for the influx of imported textiles on the local market.
By: Stefanie Keto
WERE it not for Filene’s Basement, I would have gone to my proms in a potato sack. It was there, at the flagship of the now-defunct discount retailer, on Washington Street in Boston, that I scored my Madame X gown: black velvet with the one (rhinestone) shoulder strap, marked down to $19 and not only gorgeous, but from I. Magnin. That was a magical name, light-years removed from the Basement chain, which recently closed, sunk into bankruptcy.
My mother saw the dress first. She grabbed for it, microseconds ahead of another shopper (you had to move fast in Filene’s Basement), and I tried it on, right there on the floor.
