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A Boy-Girl ThingNEW YORK — When Michael Bastian set out to design his spring collection for Gant, he thought about the men in Marilyn Monroe’s life and toyed with the idea of a geeky boy with a bombshell. The result: his fi rst line for women. There are preppy elements, of course, but all with a sexy edge. Here, an exclusive advance look: a cotton seersucker blazer, lined in lace; a viscose, cotton and nylon blouse, and cotton shorts. For more, see page 4.

Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • July 20, 2010 • $3.00

WWDTUESDAY Ready-to-Wear/Textiles

See The Buzz, Page 8

Gauging Brazil’s Boom: Fashion Brands Rush In, But Some Bumps AheadBy Michael KeppRIO DE JANEIRO — Could the Brazil juggernaut be about to hit some potholes?

As fashion brands such as Giorgio Armani, Diane von Furstenberg, Burberry, Chanel and Christian Louboutin flock to tap into the booming market with freestanding stores, joining the likes of Gucci and Louis Vuitton that are there already, there are growing concerns Brazil’s growth could slow down over the next 18 months, even as more brands enter the country. Then there is the nation’s upcoming presidential election in October, which will see incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — to whom many attribute Brazil’s economic miracle — step down and a new leader take over.

These are in addition to the country’s

FASHION: Holiday

looks from Banana Republic,

The Gap, Old Navy,

Talbots and more, pages 6 and 7.

�

EYE: Partying for Chloé

in the Hamptons,

page 12.

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NEWS: Arnold Scaasi

to close studio, page 2.

RETAIL: Lane Crawford sets

exclusives for 160th anniversary, page 3.

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Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • July 20, 2010 • $3.00

A Boy-Girl ThingTUESDAY

WWD.COM

Katie Couric and Donna Karan

2 WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010

By Rosemary Feitelberg

After 55 yeArs of dressing some of America’s most well-coiffed women, Arnold scaasi has quietly shuttered the doors of his east 52nd street made-to-order salon.

Known for his outspoken nature and highly social ways, scaasi said he now prefers to relish his lifestyle of Palm Beach winters and extend-ed Long island summers interspersed with stays in his Beekman Place apartment. “i just think it was time. i thought 55 years was pretty good,” the 79-year-old designer said monday. “i mean, i don’t feel older, but i know i’m getting older.”

He will continue to design costume jewelry for the Home shopping network.

during his multidecade career, scaasi has befriended and designed dresses for women including Joan Crawford, Joan rivers, Barbara Bush, Barbra streisand, Barbara Walters, elizabeth taylor and mary tyler moore. His dealings with such well-known clients was detailed in a 2004 scribner biography “Women i Have dressed and Undressed.” those and other exchanges remain the high-light of his career. “Working with the women was beyond

a doubt the best part. they were all very nice and very appreciative of what i was doing. if somebody was not nice, i found a way and told them i wouldn’t do clothes for them,” he said. “many were friends or became friends.”

in 1958, scaasi was one of five designers to be honored with a Coty American fashion Critics’ Award at the metropolitan museum of Art — the precursor to the CfdA awards. the montreal-born designer got his new york career up and running by working for Charles James. in the late fifties, scaasi opened an atelier in a stanford White-designed West 56th street town house that specialized in eveningwear for celeb-rities, socialites and political wives. during his career, scaasi suited up such former first ladies as mamie eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton — and famously criticized michelle obama’s

style last year for being “amiss.” As for his favorite clients, he pointed to the

“wonderful and elegant” edna morris, a familiar face in thor-

oughbred horse racing and new york’s social scene for more than 50 years. decidedly more risqué was streisand, who caused a stir by wearing a black see-through, sequined pantsuit at the 1968 Academy Awards. An image of that out-fit will grace invitations for

the opening-night party for “scaasi: American Couturier,”

a retrospective of the designer’s work that bows at Boston’s museum

of fine Arts sept. 25. Last year, in seeming preparation for his retirement,

he revealed that more than 200 of his creations had been donated to the museum.

As for the state of fashion today, scaasi said, “i am amazed by the price of clothes. that really shocks me. A lot of these clothes look like what we used to call housedresses and they are $2,000 and up,” he said. “they don’t look like anything special. they just look like ordinary clothes that you would wear on weekends or to work.”

it comes as no surprise that the publicity-lov-ing scaasi doesn’t begrudge designers for their extroverted personas. “they probably do that because the stores want to be able to promote their merchandise,” he said. “We used to say, ‘A bad photo is better than no photo.’ ”

And even though his studio has officially closed, scaasi doesn’t appear ready to give it all up just yet. Before hanging up the phone monday, he said, “i just got a call from a woman who needs a dress for her son’s wedding and en-gagement party. i need to find a workroom to do it, so maybe it never stops.”

By David Moin

tHe gAP BrAnd’s viCe President And CreAtive direCtor, dennis Leggett, A veteran of the chain, has departed after 14 years.

one source said Leggett became frustrated working at gap, which has been struggling to regain market share and get more customers to shop its stores. A gap spokeswoman had no further infor-mation on what triggered his departure or if he has a new job. Leggett was gap brand’s second-highest-ranking marketing executive, next to ivy ross, executive vice president of marketing for the gap brand and a former disney stores executive.

separately, Laird + Partners, the creative agency that, since 2002, has created several major campaigns for gap brand including spring 2010 and is working on the store’s black pants cam-paign hitting in August, might play a bigger role in the corporation’s efforts to revive the image. one possibility is for the holiday campaign. “We have not announced our holiday plans yet,” said the spokeswoman. “We have a long-standing relationship with Laird + Partners and we work with a roster of agencies, depending on the project. We don’t rely on any one agency of record.”

“i really can’t comment,” said trey Laird, chief executive officer and creative officer of Laird + Partners, who formerly worked at Peter Arnell and donna Karan. since 2002, Laird + Partners has created several campaigns for gap including the Audrey Hepburn fall 2006 campaign, the red campaign to help fight Aids in Africa in 2006, your own gap in fall 2008 and Classics redefined in 2007. gap campaigns have been celebrity-centric, filled with personalities from sports, Hollywood, television and music. Last year’s holiday campaign for gap brand was created in partnership with Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which also created the quirky supermodelquins campaign for the old navy division, considered successful.

gap has been showing some stronger financials and more appealing denim assortments built around its 1969 premium jeans strategy, but lacks vitality in other categories and continues to strug-gle to recapture market share. still, management has been gaining confidence in the product and has expressed a willingness to ramp up the marketing. Last month, comparable-store sales at gap north America were down 3 percent. in may, gap north America’s sales were down 2 percent, but in April they rose 2 percent.

Arnold Scaasi Closes Manhattan Salon

Gap Creative Director Exits

WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2010 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.VOLUME 200, NO. 13. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in January, May, June, October and December, two additional issues in March, April, August, September and November, and three additional issues in February) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by Condé Nast: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human Resources. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6 POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615–5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. Subscribers: If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. If during your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable, you are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions and reprint requests, please call 212-630-4274 or fax requests to 212-630-4280. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

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6FASHIONCozy and classic are the universal themes for holiday at retailers such as Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Loft, Talbots and Club Monaco.

GENERALAs fashion brands flock to tap into the booming Brazil market with freestanding stores, there are growing concerns Brazil’s growth could slow down over the next 18 months.After 55 years, Arnold Scaasi has quietly shuttered the doors of his East 52nd Street made-to-order salon.Hong Kong retailer Lane Crawford plans to mark its 160th anniversary with a wide-ranging program of events and special products.Intent on doubling its business in China by 2015, Nike Inc. on Monday named Craig Cheek vice president and general manager of Greater China.

EYEDiscussing the weather at a cocktail party is a tad trite, but the topic’s a little hard to ignore when the stifling temp puts everyone at risk of perspiring through their expensive finery.

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“A lot of these clothes look like what we used

to call housedresses and they are $2,000 and up.” — Arnold Scaasi on the price of clothes. Page 2.

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WWDTUESDayReady-to-Wear/Textiles

• Today in EyeScoop: Images from the

“Dinner With Schmucks” screening in East Hampton

• Additional images from the Chloé party

• More images of the opening of the Pasadena Museum

of California Art’s fourth California Design Biennial,

“Action/Reaction”

TODAY ON

.comWWD

CORRECTIONAnthropologie will be the exclusive retailer for the bridal collection by Corey Lynn Calter, who does not intend to expand to other stores. this was incorrect in a fashion scoop on page 15, monday.

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Arnold Scaasi

A Club Monaco look.

Barbra Streisand at the 1968 Academy Awards in a Scaasi design.

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GARCIA’S ON TARGET: Nina Garcia just keeps adding on those gigs — and building her income. Now the Marie Claire fashion director, “Project Runway” judge and style author has signed on to be Target’s new fashion expert. While Garcia’s latest role has yet to be announced, she’s already appeared on the retailer’s Web site in segments about everything from fighting fashion boredom to finding the best looks for curvy customers. “I love the price; you can’t beat the price,” Garcia enthuses about a denim pencil skirt, $24.99, in one segment. The native of Colombia also does videos in Spanish. Her sign-off, as she’s leaving the store, is: “This was fun. I’ll be back. Happy shopping!” Garcia has been guest-blogging for Target’s StyleBoutique since October 2009. Her role has now expanded to sharing style news about Target fashion collections, including Mossimo, Merona and Xhilaration, offering “tricks of the trade” advice and styling tips to the retailer’s customers, creating online videos and continuing to contribute to the StyleBoutique. Garcia could not be reached for comment Monday, and Target officials declined to comment.

Whether that means there will be Target fashions in the pages of Marie Claire — or on “Project Runway” — remains to be seen, as does whether Nina Garcia Inc. can add even more roles. — Sharon Edelson

UP, UP, UP — AT LAST: Coming off horrendous figures a year ago, the September issues of all the major titles — Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, InStyle, Marie Claire and W — are on the climb again. Vogue leads the way, with 532 ad pages, an almost 25 percent increase from the September 2009 issue. “The endemic categories were very strong for us,” said vice president and publisher Susan Plagemann. “And we’re feeling good about the rest of the year.” InStyle is reporting 403 ad pages, up 16 percent over last year. A spokeswoman said this issue marks the first time since 2000 that InStyle’s September ad performance has exceeded 400 pages. Elle’s pages are up 18 percent to 382 and Harper’s Bazaar posted a 12 percent rise in paging, to 302 pages. W isn’t far behind, up 31

percent to 252 pages. Glamour wins for posting the largest gain during the period, up almost 58 percent to 241 pages, and Marie Claire’s September issue is up 10 percent, to 156. Don’t pop the Champagne just yet, though, given the slowing economic recovery. — Amy Wicks

THE FASHION GAME: Sugar Inc., owner of fashion search engine ShopStyle and celebrity blog PopSugar, has moved into gaming with what could, with a lot of luck, turn out to be fashion’s Farmville. PopSugar’s Retail Therapy is a mud-free place that doesn’t lack for glitzy brands. The retail game — the object is to grow an empty store into a huge retailer — is packed with seasonal merchandise from sponsors Banana Republic, Barneys, Diane von Furstenberg, Gap, Juicy, Topshop and Tory Burch, not to mention the odd bag or shoe from such brands as Lanvin and Christian Louboutin.

Could gaming save the media?“I have this theory, which is all media companies

in the future need to have diversification of revenue streams,” said Sugar founder and chief executive

officer Brian Sugar, whose company also recently acquired local city guide FreshGuide. “Subscription revenue is dead, you can’t completely rely on display advertising, you need to diversify. This gets us into the virtual goods business.”

“It’s a fun alternative way to create your personal style and get to know a brand without being intimidated….In your virtual life you can reinvent yourself through the fashion world, customize the ultimate store that reflects your style or the style of your virtual persona,” said Diane von Furstenberg president Paula Sutter.

The Facebook game is free to play, but Sugar earns revenue from virtual currency,

sponsorships and affiliate fees if a player buys the real version of anything featured in the game. A click on any item brings the shopper to the real store.

The game went up in beta form last Tuesday and so far has more than 1,260 fans and 700 monthly active users. — Cate T. Corcoran

By Miles Socha

Combining one of the biggest themes of the fall fashion season — heritage — with its own milestone, hong Kong retailer Lane Crawford plans to mark its 160th anniversary with a wide-ranging program of events and special products.

Key among them will be to take two symbols of heritage — the burberry trenchcoat and the ming dynasty chair — and invite a range of cre-ative talents to customize them.

two dozen fashion influencers, mainly styl-ists and editors, took on the trench, decorat-ing it with ribbons, brooches, studs or spills of tulle, or rendering it in unusual fabrics, from fur to gold lamé. Among those invited to take part were actress maggie Cheung, pottery art-ist Jonathan Adler, fashion editors george Cortina, Lynn Yaeger and Anna Della Russo and retailer sarah Rutson, the fashion direc-tor at Lane Crawford who spearheaded the “heritage 160” initiative.

“history is about taking the best from the past and always being relevant for the future,” Rutson said. “We are always finding ways to give our customers new, exclusive and inspiring experiences in our stores and this is another program to bring them into our stores.”

events will kick off on sept. 10 at Lane Crawford’s 80,000-square-foot flagship in the ifC mall, as well as on the retailer’s Web site.

the trenchcoats — along with ming chairs customized by such industrial design talents as tom Dixon, Jaime hayón, ilse Crawford and squint — will be exhibited at ifC before being auctioned off for charity. the beneficiary will be a UniCef project bringing education to more than 30,000 children in 150 villages across western China.

Customers at the luxury specialty retailer — which operates five locations in hong Kong and one in beijing — will also be able to purchase limited edi-tion shoes and exclusive “heritage” collections by contemporary labels.

Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, stuart Weitzman and giuseppe Zanotti

are among footwear mavens asked to create iconic, must-have shoes in edi-tions of 24.

meanwhile, band of outsiders, Acne, elizabeth & James, engineered garments, sacai and Visvim are among the labels for men and women that Rutson asked to create special capsule collections that exemplify the best fall fashion trends.

“We asked them to rework items we felt were iconic and staple items from anyone’s wardrobe — a trench, a cashmere sweater and a blazer — pieces that are always in style, regardless of what decade or trend is the latest,” Rutson said.

she asserted the last decade failed to produce a “real definitive new look” and instead revisited a range of fashion eras, particularly the eighties. As a result, many houses are now “looking at who they are and what their strength and history are and using that as a focus.”

in her view, it reflects a wish to be “less of a throw-away society, wanting to embrace our heritage while respecting craft and quality.”

founded on the hong Kong waterfront in 1850 by thomas Ash Lane and ninian Crawford as a provider of general goods and provisions for the british mili-tary and their families, the store’s early slogan was “the Place to buy Anything from a Pin to an Anchor,” said Lane Crawford president Jennifer Woo, whose family took over the banner, then a one-store opera-tion, in the eighties.

today, the luxury fashion stores stock more than 600 brands, what Woo bills as the largest assortment of international brands in Asia, spanning women’s wear, lingerie, men’s wear, shoes, accessories, jewelry, cos-metics and home and lifestyle products. its services include dedicated personalized stylists and a cosmet-ics concierge.

WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010 3

By Vicki M. Young

A sLoWDoWn in the RAte of eConomiC ReCoVeRY is casting another pall over the retail world.

blake hallinan, a director in the consumer and retail investment banking group at bank of America merrill Lynch, noted that merrill recently cut its forecasts for gDP growth for the year to 3 percent and, for 2011, 2.5 percent. many economists last month began shav-ing growth projections as the rebound has been tamped down by persistently high unemployment, low consumer confidence and fears about europe’s sovereign debt crisis, among other factors.

hallinan made his comments during a panel discussion on “mid-Year temperature taking — the state of the economy and the impact on Retail sectors,” hosted by the Luxury marketing Council earlier this month at the headquarters of nasdaq.

Despite the pullback in retail results in may, he rated the quick-ness of the healing process from the lows of fall 2008 as “pretty good.”

the banker’s clients include specialty retailers and athletic apparel chains, and his general outlook for those businesses was positive. “sales have stabilized,” he said. “inventory is in line with demand.”

so far he doesn’t foresee any bankruptcies for the balance of the year. “Retailers refinanced last year,” he said. “they healed their balance sheets, there are fewer restructurings and they got cash.”

Joseph barrato, president of north American operations for italian luxury firm moncler, noted that the company, which is planning to go public in milan “within the next four to five months,” was in a strong position because of the discipline im-posed on its operations.

firms catering to the well-heeled have to have the right price-value ratio, he said: “We have to seduce the consumer. We give them an emotional charge. Price is not a problem if you have the right product.”

moncler is 48 percent owned by the Carlyle group.if moncler were to be listed, it would join a small but growing

group of companies that have done so in recent months. Robert mcCooey, senior vice president of new listings and capital markets at the nasdaq omX group noted that value-price specialty chain Rue 21 went public last november, and off-pricer gordmans filed in may for a $75 million initial public offering for “later this summer,” he said.

however, fred nazem, chief executive officer of venture capi-tal partnership nazem & Co., said he remains cautious and doesn’t believe the economy is in a recovery mode. “there was so much money pumped into the system, but it is not being lent out,” he said

firms such as Amazon are doing well, he said, because they are “selling at the point of need. most are merchant-centric and they have to be buyer-centric. they need to stimulate the buyer at the point of need, not the point of sale. that means evolving from the push model to the pull model.”

Experts See Sluggish Recovery MEMO PAD

Lane Crawford Lines Up Anniversary Items

“We asked them to rework items we felt were iconic and staple items from anyone’s wardrobe. ”

— Sarah Rutson, Lane Crawford

A Burberry trenchcoat

customized by Anna Dello Russo. Below: A Sergio Rossi shoe

sketch.

WWD.COM4 WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010

Bastian’s Gant for HerBy Marc Karimzadeh

NEW YORK — What do Gant and Marilyn Monroe have in common? Designer Michael Bastian was thinking of the screen siren and the geeky men in her life when he came up with his first wom-en’s collection, which is for Gant.

There were the obvious examples, such as Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, but Bastian dug deeper and found a well of inspiration in “Niagara,” Henry Hathaway’s 1953 film noir clas-sic that starred Monroe. While working on the campaign for the men’s line, Bastian wondered just how the female counterpart to this man would dress, and when Gant executives encour-aged him to add a few women’s looks, the men’s wear designer jumped at the chance.

“I had never been in women’s before,” Bastian said, during an exclusive preview of the first Gant by Michael Bastian women’s collection for spring. “It’s learning a whole new language. I watched the dynamic between these people in ‘Niagara.’ She had to be sexy and edgy.”

Don’t expect the resulting 53-piece collec-tion to target Monroe-esque sex symbols. For his first outing, Bastian didn’t turn his back on Gant’s preppy Americana roots. Instead, the launch collection is preppy with a sexy attitude, from a seersucker dress with lace overlay — “I thought it had a good-girl/bad-girl dynamic” — to a cropped and boxy shirt that could have come straight from a boyfriend’s wardrobe and a wrap cardigan that was directly inspired by a photo George Barris took of Marilyn Monroe on the Santa Monica, Calif., beach in 1962.

Luckily for Bastian, he also had a few living muses to guide him through the process of delv-ing into women’s wear.

“I am lucky enough to have Eugenia Gonzalez as my p.r.,” Bastian said. “She was a very big muse for me, and very helpful. She always let me know what she was looking for and what she couldn’t find.”

The new collection is indicative of Gant’s on-going rebirth in North America, which started in 2006 when the brand signed on Jeffrey Kalinsky for an exclusive collaboration. That deal lasted for three years and opened the brand to new re-

tail accounts and an expanded customer base, as well as to the growth of the Gant Rugger contem-porary brand and the overhaul of the company’s Fifth Avenue flagship.

The Gant by Michael Bastian men’s line will launch late next month at top Gant stores worldwide, as well as specialty stores such as Barneys New York, which will carry the line in Co-op; Saks Fifth Avenue; Scoop; Odin here; Ron Herman in Los Angeles; Colette in Paris; Selfridges in the U.K., and United Arrows in Japan. The women’s collection also is positioned at the contemporary level and ultimately targets a similar distribution tier.

“We look at this as an extension of Gant by Michael Bastian, rather than a new women’s line we are getting into,” said Ari Hoffman, chief execu-tive officer of Gant USA. “This further emphasizes our collection and what Michael is doing for us.”

The women’s line is priced at wholesale from $65 to $130 for shirts and blouses; $220 to $325 for blazers; $65 to $130 for skirts, pants and shorts; $30 to $65 for T-shirts; $65 for sweaters, and up to $130 for cashmere pieces. Hoffman declined to disclose sales projections. “Our goal is to [ini-tially] launch it with Gant stores and at two top stores, and the same strategy will apply to other countries around the world,” he said. “Then, after that, we will roll it out. We are not looking at this in terms of how many stores we can sell to. This is a much more targeted launch.”

Gant is planning to unveil the full collection in a presentation during New York Fashion Week in September.

The target audience for the women’s collec-tion “is similar to the Gant guy,” Bastian noted, adding that she can be a college student up to someone in her mid-30s.

According to Hoffman, the line soon will in-clude an expanded assortment of accessories with watches and footwear in the pipeline. As for Bastian, he may have been buzzing with excite-ment about designing for the opposite sex for the first time, but he has no immediate intention to add women’s to his eponymous designer collec-tion. “I am not going to do that until we are 100 percent ready there,” he said.

Looks from the Gant by Michael Bastian spring collection.

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WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 20106

Cozy and classic are the universal themes for holiday at retailers such as Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Loft, Talbots and Club Monaco.

Cold Comfort

LOFT

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sTaLBOTs

Loft was all about the mix for holiday, whether it was a sporty shearling jacket worn with a printed dress or a blazer with a ruffled blouse and faux-fur necklet. Knitwear was also prominently featured — in chunky sweaters and cardigans, as well as details on outerwear.

Nordic sweaters and tailored jackets that worked like a structured cardigan — some with a military angle — were among Banana Republic’s cozy-classic offerings. And the “must-have accessory of the season,” according to Simon Kneen, Banana’s creative director? Fingerless gloves.

Strong outerwear and feminine details were the message at Talbots. The collection featured coats for every occasion, from tailored day looks to satin evening styles, as well as faux fur and puffer looks.

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“We’re making holiday all about you,” said Patrick Robinson, executive vice president of design. “All anybody wants as a gift today is electronics. So we’re offering clothes for you to fall in love with yourself. If you love it, then you’ll buy it for somebody else.” That translated into superlightweight puffer jackets, skinny jeans and sweaters in a variety of hues designed to be worn in layers.

Club Monaco worked a masculine-feminine counterpoint for holiday by mixing romantic pieces such as lace tap shorts with classic men’s wear styles like tailored coats and chunky knits. In accessories, gloves in black leather or shearling, long and short, were the key items.

solD nAVYWith nothing retailing for more than $100, Old Navy was pushing outerwear, pullovers and denim as the primary categories for holiday. Sporty stripes and bright basics also made vibrant statements.

8 WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010

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Continued from page oneperennial problems that include massive in-come inequality, poor infrastructure, a fash-ion market that is centered almost entirely in São Paulo and continuing high duties on fashion imports.

Despite these worries, Brazil isn’t about to give up its alphabetical leadership of the so-called BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India and China — which are expected to drive global growth in luxury and fashion brands for the foreseeable future. Even as Brazil’s output is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to grow 4.2 percent in 2011, down from the 7.1 percent projected for this year, it will still be far faster than most other Western economies. Local economists concur about slower growth after 2011 as well.

Bernardo Wjuniski, an economist with Tendências Consultoria, a São Paulo con-sulting fi rm, said Brazil should grow by 6.5 percent in 2010, above Finance Ministry estimates of 6.5 to 7 percent. Economic growth from 2011 to 2015 should temper to between 4 and 4.5 percent.

“The economy will grow more this year than in the coming fi ve years mainly because of zero economic growth in 2009, and because the government recently removed tax breaks on consumer purchases of cars and appliances to help jump-start the economy,” Wjuniski said. “Still, if Brazil grows by 4 to 4.5 percent in the next fi ve years, this is a sizeable enough growth rate to attract foreign companies to set up shop here. The domestic mar-ket is very big and Brazilian growth rates over the next fi ve years should be much higher than in the U.S. or Europe and other big emerging markets, except for China and India.”

Economist Roberto Teixeira da Costa, partner at Prospectiva Consultoria of São Paulo, added that a growth rate above 4 percent a year after 2011 will depend on a num-ber of variables, including economic gains in China, the biggest importer of Brazilian goods; whether Europe experiences economic crises severe enough to rock other econo-mies and whether U.S. interest rates rise considerably in the next few years, reducing

the fl ow of foreign capital to Brazil, where interest rates are much higher. “Even though Brazil can count on a big domestic market for growth, such growth is not immune to what happens in the other major economies of the world,” he said.

According to the government’s Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), based on 2008 income fi gures, only 0.6 percent of the population (945,000 peo-ple) makes more than $53,000 a year, but that’s enough to put them in the upper-middle to upper classes. The IBGE added that 2.2 percent (3.4 million people) earn more than $27,000 a year, landing them in the upper-middle class and able to afford luxury fashion.

This makes it appear that there aren’t many potential consumers of luxury fashion. But these are 2008 fi gures — the most recent available — and, since then, incomes have risen considerably, especially for the upper-middle class and the rich, said David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasília.

“Some 10 to 15 percent of consumers can afford lower-ticket luxury items, like the occasional purchase of foreign-brand fashion, but can’t afford high-ticket luxury goods, like imported sports cars,” Fleischer said.

He pointed out that the presidential election in October is not expected to upend the economy, as “both of the top two contenders, government candidate Dilma Rousseff and opposition party candidate José Serra, plan to keep current macroeconomic policy, including keeping infl ation and interest rate policy on track. It is expected to spur eco-nomic growth without overheating the economy.

“I believe that economists’ projections that Brazil will enjoy up to 6 percent growth this year and more than 4 percent a year from 2011 on are accurate,” he added. “Because incomes are rising, consumer demand is very strong and expected to remain strong in the coming years.”

Brazilian buying clout is also being fueled by a low, stable infl ation of 4.5 percent a year; a relatively low unemployment rate of 7 percent, and interest-free monthly install-ments on credit-card purchases, said Carlos Ferreirinha, president of MCF, a São Paulo consulting fi rm specializing in luxury goods.

“Foreign fashion brands now see Brazil as the second-most promising emerging market [after China] with a $6.5 billion a year luxury market,” said Ferreirinha. “Russia and India, in confl ict with neighboring countries, have complicated political situations.

The Buzz on Brazil A look down on Trancoso. Florianópolis in southern Santa Catarina.

The Iguatemi mall in São Paulo.The Iguatemi mall in São Paulo.

Paraty in Rio de Janeiro. Inside the Iguatemi mall.

TO THE POINT• Brazil’s economy should grow by 4 to

4.5 percent from 2011 to 2015 after increasing 6.5 percent this year.

• Only 0.6 percent of the population made more than $53,000 in 2008, the most recent data available.

• São Paulo accounts for 70 to 75 percent of Brazil’s fashion market.

• The country’s luxury market is estimated at $6.5 billion annually, second only to China amongst the BRIC nations.

9WWD, tuesDay, july 20, 2010WWD.COM

In India, there is much less impulse consumption than in Brazil, factors that make those countries less attractive for foreign fashion brands than Brazil. This is one reason those labels are opening in high-end urban malls, where well-off Brazilians buy fashion. The luxury fashion market in Brazil is still a young one, with lots of growing room because demand for foreign fashion among upper-middle and upper-class consumers remains strong.”

Ferreirinha added the luxury fashion market is expected to grow mainly in São Paulo, where most of the wealthy live and which accounts for 70 to 75 per-cent of the Brazilian fashion market, and, to a lesser extent, in Rio de Janeiro, which accounts for 10 to 15 percent of that market. This is where most new malls are being built, along with Brasília and a few other big cities in the São Paulo state that have high per capita incomes and where there is a dearth of malls.

Brazil is getting noticed on international fashion and travel fronts, too. Local fashion has increasingly projected the country’s sensual, laid-back and let-loose spirit, either at 7th on Sixth, where designer Alexandre Herchcovitch shows his playful prints, or as homegrown stylists open boutiques abroad. Carlos Miele, known for tropical motif dresses, and casual-chic sportswear brand Osklen have set up shops in New York, Miami and major European cap-itals, and Rosa Chá, Brazil’s top swimwear brand, now has a Manhattan store, as well.

The sun-drenched jet-set image that Brazil has exuded for years has recently turned unspoiled beach towns, like Trancoso in the northeastern Bahia state, into trendy getaways.

While not enough foreigners have discovered

Trancoso to push it into the 10 most poplar escapes for international travelers just yet, two towns that are include Florianópolis, an island ringed with 40 beachfront villages in the southern Santa Catarina state, and the colonial town of Paraty in the south-eastern Rio de Janeiro state, according to Brazil’s Tourist Board. Trancoso, though, is likely on the way up. The town, largely a hippie settlement in the Seventies and now a sudden hot spot among locals, was dubbed “the chicest beach town you’ve never heard of” by The New York Times in April.

But it’s not entirely under the radar. Francesca Versace and Dimitri Mussard, an heir to the Hermès empire, partied in Trancoso during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and Diane von Furstenberg, Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bündchen rent or own more secluded beachfront homes.

“Brazil has never been a bigger protagonist on the international stage,” said Walter Vasconcelos, marketing director of the country’s Tourist Board, which estimates that Brazil will lure 5.3 million visi-tors in 2010 — the most since 2005. “And this should attract new business here, including more foreign fashion brands and foreigners buying local fashion.”

Von Furstenberg opened her first Brazil store in São Paulo’s high-end Iguatemi mall in March, fol-lowing Christian Louboutin and Missoni, who set up their first Latin American stores there in 2009. Chanel is due to arrive in September and Burberry in November. This Iguatemi mall, opened in Brasília in March, boasts Vuitton, Zegna, Missoni and Burberry, with Emporio Armani coming this October.

“Big names in foreign fashion who now vacation in Brazil, combined with a growing economy that is

sparking mall development, has helped convince more top European fashion labels to come here,” said Carlos Jereissati Filho, president of a group that is one of Brazil’s biggest high-end mall opera-tors. The group, with nine Iguatemi malls and four other shopping centers nationwide, plans to open five more Iguatemi centers in cities in the São Paulo state by 2013. Business was up 15 percent at the group’s 13 malls in the first quarter of this year.

Rosanne Behar, the head of new interna-tional business at JHSF, the group that owns the Shopping Cidade Jardim — the largest luxury em-porium in South America, which opened in São Paulo in 2008 — agreed with Jereissati Filho.

“I expect more foreign fashion labels to come to urban luxury malls, like SCJ, because they see purchasing power here, particularly among those in the upper-middle and upper classes, increas-ing,” said Behar. “They want to tap into it.”

SCJ, whose brands include Armani, Ferragamo, Vuitton and Zegna, boasted a 30 percent increase in business in 2009.

Hermès opened its first Brazilian boutique there last September, followed by Carolina Herrera in April.

In the recently released 2009 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development study, Brazil ranked fifth among markets with the greatest potential, up from eighth in 2008, with 80 percent of execu-tives polled targeting the BRIC nations among their target markets for expansion.

Silvio Passarelli, director of the M.B.A. program for fashion management at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, a private São Paulo university,

said that both high- and lower-end foreign brands almost always set up shop in urban malls that at-tract enough customers to sell the volumes needed to offset high taxes on foreign fashion — as much as 85 percent, when considering 35 percent import duties, along with state and national taxes.

“Trendy tourist towns like Trancoso, Florianópolis or Paraty aren’t likely to turn into the next Capri or Saint-Tropez, attracting high- or lower-end foreign fashion boutiques, because they don’t have the mall infrastructure or the year-round tourist traffic to make the margins needed to offset high taxes,” said Passarelli. “That situa-tion could only change if Brazil greatly reduces fashion import duties, as Chile has done.”

Amir Slama, the designer who created Rosa Chá, agreed that “the need for volume-driven business, amid high import duties and other taxes, is why even lower-end foreign brands like Zara or Calvin Klein Jeans are only found in urban malls and why the Gap has opened here only in duty free airport stores.”

Another reason trendy beach towns aren’t over-run by tourists: zoning laws have kept development at bay so they remain unspoiled. That has helped keep them free of malls — and consequently, high-end local or foreign fashion labels, according to Oskar Metsavaht, Osklen’s founder and designer.

“I am the only high-end fashion brand in Trancoso because my casual-chic sportswear suits the town’s laid-back atmosphere,” said Metsavaht. “If zoning laws keep Trancoso undeveloped, it will never attract luxury foreign fashion because its unspoiled nature doesn’t suit such labels.”

“The luxury fashion market in Brazil is still a young one, with lots of growing room because demand for foreign fashion among upper-middle and upper-class consumers remains strong.”

— Carlos Ferreirinha, MCF

The JK complex in São Paulo.

WWD.COMWWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 201010

Oh, for the good old days, when getting the bugs out meant working through the quirks of an imperfect computer program. Now, it means getting the bugs out. Literally. Disgusting, crafty bugs that can make themselves vilely inconspicuous, when it suits their purposes, the nasty little bloodsuckers.

Surely most people reading this have heard the industry truism “twice a coincidence, three times a trend.” Well, folks, after the third identification — make that the third published identification — of bedbugs in a mainstream Manhattan store last week, we now have a trend on our hands, and it’s no micromini. Just when you thought things had started to turn around for the industry — people starting to shop again; luxury experiencing an uptick — along come bedbugs. Most of us have been reading and watching inflammatory television news features on bedbugs, how they’ve infiltrated hotels and apartment living to a stunning degree, how magical paw-tapping dogs somehow find them and how — once settled into the nooks, crannies and fabric folds — miserably difficult they are to expunge. Oh, and the bite welts — lovely.

We can’t blame the bedbugs. Like ourselves, they were put here by God or nature, depending upon your point of view, for a reason, which, scientifically at least, is the survival of the species. They seem to be doing fine in that department, thank you and Darwin very much.

So what’s being done to challenge them? This column was intended to convey what the industry as a whole and major individual retail organizations are doing proactively to prevent major infestations. Along the way, queries went out to a number of retailers and a lone designer house, Ralph Lauren, because he continues to set the gold standard for designer retailing.

On the upside, according to an entomologist from Rutgers, a massive retail infestation would be unlikely. “If you say enormous, meaning thousands [of bedbugs], that’s probably unlikely. Because once you find thousands, you see them very easily,” said Changlu Wang, Ph.D. On the downside, controlling bedbugs is very difficult for a number of reasons, including chemical killers that aren’t as strong as they used to be and the fact that the bugs can elude detection for a long time. “An infestation can be unnoticed for months, and in those months, it can spread,” Wang said.

So, what about industry prevention? A Limited Brands spokesman e-mailed that last week’s Victoria Secret problem was picked up in a preemptive check: “As a proactive measure, we tested our Manhattan stores. When we found small, isolated areas that may have been impacted, we immediately took

action to resolve the situation.”As for what others are doing,

a day of asking around produced the conclusion that the prevailing industry response is ostrichlike, heads in the sand. Appalling. Perhaps, especially at the luxury level, retailers are afraid that addressing the issue publicly is tantamount to an admitting that they have the problem — not necessarily the case. On the other hand, just ask any private school mom who has suffered thorough the indignities of a kid with head lice if bugs respect economic divides. They don’t (this writer has that on excellent authority).

That said, e-mails to retailers and the CFDA did not inquire about specific infestations. Rather, the focus was on preemptive measures, both industrywide and specific to individual organizations; plans should infestation occur; whether there has been specific contact with the City about the problem; anyone imagine a worse p.r. disaster?

“It has not come up as a concern from our membership, but clearly it has the potential to greatly affect the industry. The CFDA is ready to actively engage if the situation warrants it and is open to direction

and advice from those who are experienced in this area,” the CFDA’s Steven Kolb answered via e-mail. If his response reads as less than enthusiastic, it came after a single e-mail query. Bergdorf Goodman, too, offered a guarded response: “We are currently in the process of formulating a plan.”

Lord & Taylor’s Brendan Hoffman gave a statement himself: “We don’t have a problem, but as a precaution,

we have increased the frequency of our exterminator to once a week to ensure we have no issue.”

Others were less forthcoming. Saks Fifth Avenue:

“Unfortunately, at this time, Saks Fifth Avenue is unable to comment on your story.”

Bloomingdale’s: “Think we will pass on this.”

J. Crew: “Regarding your story, I don’t think we are going to be much of a help.”

Ralph Lauren: “We can’t participate.”

P.r.’s at Gap referred the inquiries to other p.r.’s who ultimately didn’t come through. Nor did Macy’s.

Meanwhile, my reporter and consumer selves find this perplexing, both of us thinking of all those umpteen-ply fall knits already in the stores, and the longhair furs, with so many bug-friendly folds and crevices. Can one conjure a better reason to shop one’s closet? Bottom line: Paying customers and prospective paying customers have a right to know if there’s a game plan. If yes, what is it? If not, why not?

I took the question to the ultimate damage-control guru, Howard Rubenstein. “The problem has already been found in three stores. It has to be dealt with,” Rubenstein advised. “First, a trade association should call on all of its members to scrutinize the stores. Each of them should go way out of their way after hours or before hours to see if they can find any infestation, and if they find one, deal with it immediately. As an industry, they should look very aggressive in trying to protect the consumer.”

fashionfront

by Bridget Foley

NEW DELHI, India — Modi-Revlon, one of the leading color cosmetics and toiletries brands in India, has entered into the country’s premium professional skin care mar-ket with the launch of an antiaging line called Gatineau.

Modi-Revlon Pvt. Ltd. is an alliance between Umesh K. Modi Group and Revlon Inc., which launched the brand — one of the first international makeup firms to enter the market in India — in 1995.

Modi-Revlon plans to market Gatineau to top salons and spas across India.“Considering that the target audience would be very niche for these products, the

aim is to reach out to the top 50 salons by the year 2011,” a brand spokesman said. He added, “Gatineau is a global, professional skin care brand which we will market with a dual approach, for salon beauty care plans by qualified beauty therapists and for home beauty care — products sold by beauty therapists for home use.”

Gatineau offers six treatments priced between 1,500 rupees, or $31.84 at current exchange, and 3,500 rupees, or $74.29. They include the Dermabrasion Skin Renewal Facial, Radiance Anti-Wrinkle Facial, Radiance Lift Facial, Hydro-Source Anti-Aging Facial, Lightening Brightening Facial and the Soothing and Well-Being facial.

The products are currently available in three salons, in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Chennai.

— Mayuri Saini

BEAUTY BEATModi-Revlon Launches Antiaging Line

MARRAKECH EXPRESS: Long before Jean Paul Gaultier’s catwalk homage to Morocco during men’s fashion week, Yves Saint Laurent was introducing djellabas and tarboosh hats into women’s wardrobes. The late couturier’s Moroccan-style creations will go on show for the first time in the city that inspired them, when the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation stages a retrospective at the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech later this year. “Yves Saint Laurent and Morocco” will present 44 creations by Saint Laurent, who first visited Morocco in 1966 and bought the garden and adjoining villa with his partner, Pierre Bergé, in 1980. They will include his famous Saharienne, as well as capes embroidered with bougainvilleas inspired by the lush local vegetation. The exhibition is scheduled to run from Nov. 27 to March 18.

BLING RING: Gilt Groupe customers will have the chance to add some sparkle to their wardrobes starting at noon Wednesday, when the flash sale site puts the CFDA Swarovski Award Collection up for grabs. The line, created in conjunction with last month’s CFDA Awards, consists of one-of-a-kind, crystal-embellished creations from each of the eight designers who were nominated in a Swarovski Award category: Joseph Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung, Simon Spurr, Jason Wu, Richard Chai, Eddie Borgo, Alexander Wang and Dana Lorenz. Offerings from the collection are diverse — there’s everything from a beaded duffel bag from Wang to a bejeweled blazer by Altuzarra — and range in price from $1,090 for a Lorenz necklace to $10,000 for a Gurung party frock. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the CFDA Foundation’s Educational Initiatives, a fund that supports budding design talent at the high school, collegiate and postgraduate levels.

DOVER STREET’S NEW LOOK: London’s Dover Street Market has some new residents for fall. On Monday, Rei Kawakubo’s Mayfair retail emporium unveiled its twice-yearly change around of the concessions and spaces in the store, which it calls tachiagari, the Japanese word for “beginning.” Among the new spaces is an Yves Saint Laurent area designed by Stefano Pilati, which marks the first time the YSL mainline collection has been sold in the store. The space, which features gray velvety carpets contrasted with minimalist black and white units, also carries a bag that’s exclusive

to Dover Street Market. The handbag, called Borsa Muse Two, is made from army surplus-style fabric and retails for 1,380 pounds, or $2,100 at current exchange. Meanwhile, a new shoe and bag space has opened on the store’s third floor. The area, created by set designer Andy Hillman, is designed to look like a charred ballroom, with luxe shoes and bags by Fendi, Maloles and Delvaux placed on burned wooden pianos or in distressed glass

cabinets that stand on burned parquet floors.

HELPING OUT: With more than 3,000 participants, the Nautica New York City Triathlon is one of the largest in the country. And a number of charities benefited from the event, which sold out in less than six minutes. Among them were the American Cancer Society, the Lupus Foundation, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Team in Training and Tuesday’s Children. All told, the race raised more than $2 million. This is the fifth year Nautica has been the title sponsor of the race, which was won by Filip Ospaly of the Czech Republic in a time of 1:46:28.

MUSICALLY INCLINED: Model Irina Lazareanu is heading back to the recording studio in New York, where she will finish up a project started with Sean Lennon nearly three years ago. Two new singles, “Tennessee” and “Strange Places,” are due out by September, by which time the rest of her latest album also should be

wrapped. Her clothing line, Rini by Irina, is also set to launch in Japan the same month.

‘RAWTHER’ BETSEY: Betsey Johnson’s affinity for pink is paying off at The Plaza Hotel’s new Eloise suite. Inspired by the children’s book character created by Kay Thompson, the room’s design will be unveiled at a July 29 tea at the Fifth Avenue hotel. This partnership marks the designer’s first collaboration with a hotel, and the suite’s interior is geared for children and adults.

FASHION SCOOPS

A Jason Wu design.

The Yves Saint Laurent area at Dover

Street Market.

Does This Bug You, Too?

WWD.COM11WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010

Financial

5.93 5.36 Bebe(BEBE) - 2390453 5.51 -18.85

3.93 3.45 TandyBrands(TBAC) 14.3 7129 3.45 -7.56

2.01 1.83 Joe’sJeans(JOEZ) 5.2 1576654 1.86 -6.06

3.14 2.91 CasualMale(CMRG) 13.6 163830 2.97 -5.11

2.24 2.05 NewYork&Co.(NWY) - 334296 2.09 -5.00

5WORsTPERfORMERs DAILY COMPANIES P/E VOLuME AMt

HIgH LOw LASt%CHANgE

* Editor’s note: European stocks are quoted in the currency of their principal exchanges. Shares on the London Stock Exchange are quoted in pence, Richemont and The Swatch Group are quoted in Swiss francs and Hennes & Mauritz is quoted in Swedish kronor. All other European stocks are in euros.

0.93 0.86 frederick’sofHollywood(fOH) - 40817 0.93 +5.68

1.60 1.50 Zale(ZLC) - 377737 1.60 +3.90

25.64 24.96 Pricesmart(PsMT) 15.9 134022 25.63 +3.39

14.47 13.65 DeltaApparel(DLA) 11.0 31626 13.88 +3.04

38.97 37.21 Macerich(MAC) 33.2 1444041 38.64 +3.01

DAILY COMPANIES P/E VOLuME AMt

HIgH LOw LASt%CHANgE

5BEsTPERfORMERs

For full daily stock changes and more financial news, see WWD.com / business-news.

By Evan Clark

Retail stocks Rose 0.4 peRcent Monday, making up some of the ground lost in Friday’s 3.3 percent drop.

there’s little indication the still-depressed mar-kets are ready to take a decisive move up, as early second-quarter reports from major banks have painted a somewhat mixed picture of the economy. and investors are waiting for retailers to weigh in with their outlooks for the rest of the year when they report second-quarter results next month. investors are also keeping a close eye on consum-ers, who have had their confidence shaken by con-tinued weakness in employment.

the s&p Retail index rose 1.64 points on Monday to 392.22. the sector has not turned in two consecutive days of gains since June 14 and 15, when the index closed at 441.69. the dow Jones industrial average kicked off the week with a 0.6 percent, or 56.53 point, gain to 10,154.43.

Monday’s fashion gainers included Macy’s inc.,

up 2.2 percent to $17.53; the Warnaco Group inc., 1 percent to $36.81; Gap inc., 0.9 percent to $18.29, and Urban outfitters inc., 0.8 percent to $32.21.

offering some encouragement for the second half, an online survey by priceGrabber, part of the shopping Web site experian, found that back-to-school shoppers of all ages plan to buy more ap-parel than a year ago.

“the trends we are seeing in shoppers’ back-to-school clothing purchases this year indicate that, although they continue to be focused on budget-minded spending, older students in particular are expanding their wardrobes, which would indicate a shift toward discretionary clothing purchases,” said laura conrad, president of priceGrabber.

asian and european markets were generally down.the nikkei 225 fell 2.9 percent to 9,408.36 in

tokyo as the Hang seng index slipped 0.8 percent to 20,090.95 in Hong kong. the daX decreased 0.5 percent to 6,009.11 in Frankfurt as the cac 40 dropped 0.4 percent to 3,486.33 in paris and the Ftse 100 slipped 0.2 percent to 5,148.28 in london.

Retail Stocks See Gains to Start Week intent on doUblinG its bUsiness in cHina by 2015, nike inc. on Monday named craig cheek vice president and gen-eral manager of Greater china.

He succeeds Willem Haitnik, who will become vice president and general manager of converse’s european, Middle eastern and african businesses.

cheek, a 20-year nike veteran, has held various senior posi-tions in sales, product development and general management areas of nike and was most recently vice president and general manager for north america. He will report to Gary destefano, president of global operations for nike.

Haitnik, who has been responsible for driving growth across Greater china for the past five years, has been with nike for more than 15 years and has held several senior leadership roles at the firm including general manager of nike Mexico and nike’s central, eastern europe, Middle eastern and african businesses. He will re-port to nick stowe, senior vice president of converse international.

succeeding cheek as vice president and general manager of north america is elliott Hill, a 22-year company veteran who’s currently vice president of global retail. He, too, will report to destefano.

— Vicki M. Young

Nike Names Cheek to China Post

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WWD.COM12 WWD, TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010

When my friend Thomas and I fi rst stepped onto Kauai we were

greeted by the fl oral aroma of the mango trees, which along with

coconut trees, leave a consistent scent of perfume in the air. My fi rst morning at the St. Regis Princeville,

I felt relaxed and rejuvenated. When I looked out the window and saw nothing but miles of green mountains, turquoise water and lush landscape, I felt completely removed from my busy life back in New York City.

The sand on the beach is as soft as snow and so white it’s almost silver. We snorkeled in the bay, which has large coral reefs at both ends. The reefs house numerous types of fi sh, in every color imaginable. We began counting all the different shades of neon that swam by. My favorites were the yellows and blues. We also saw sea turtles while snorkeling, and, later, kayaking.

Each day, we took walks and hikes and were amazed at how fragrant and healthy the foliage on the island is. We quickly became familiar with the varieties of hibiscus, as well as the pink and purple bougainvillea vines, the gardenias, the red ginger and the torch ginger. The vibrant plants attract brightly colored birds, which we often saw fl ying low amongst the trees. They were as drawn to the beautiful colors and smells of the plants as we were.

The weather kept us guessing. In one single day on Kauai there could be 10 changes in the weather pattern. The occasional rainstorms gave us time to explore the hotel’s extensive video library, which houses all of our old favorites but has newer movies and TV shows, as well.

As we left the resort, I wondered why anyone would ever want to leave such a perfect part of the world, so secluded and ideal. But I guess the only way to appreciate such complete relaxation in a beautiful spot is to experience it rarely.

Sincerely,

Editor’s Note: Designer Alexis Bittar recently returned from a weeklong vacation to Kauai, Hawaii.

When my friend Thomas and I fi rst

white it’s almost silver. We snorkeled in the bay, which

numerous types of fi sh, in every color imaginable. We

swam by. My favorites were the yellows and blues. We also saw sea turtles while snorkeling, and, later, kayaking.

Each day, we took walks and hikes and were amazed at how fragrant and healthy the foliage on the island is. We quickly became familiar with the varieties of hibiscus, as well as the pink and purple bougainvillea

DISCUSSING THE WEATHER AT A COCKTAIL party is a tad trite, but the topic’s a little hard to ignore when the stifl ing temp puts everyone at risk of perspiring through their expensive fi nery.

As the social set swanned into the Chloé pop-up store in East Hampton on Saturday evening, one observer chuckled, “Look at all the beautiful people sweating.” Even the models hired to show off the clothes were so damp that staff had to periodically dab at their dripping foreheads. (Granted, they were in heavy fall knits.)

To beat the heat, waiters passed chilled rosé, chilled further with ice cubes, and lobster rolls throughout the crowd, which included Olivia Chantecaille, Guy Oseary and Michelle Alves. There were also sugar cookies shaped like the house’s Paraty handbag. But guests Jessica Udell and Beth Storey scored the real thing when they won the night’s raffl e.

Doutzen Kroes, who co-hosted the affair with Lauren Santo Domingo, Filipa Fino and Ralph Toledano, had good reason, aside from the humidity, to be glowing: she’s expecting. “I feel like I’m going to be talking pregnancy all night,” the model said as yet another partygoer approached her to discuss child bearing.

Afterward, most of the party dispersed to cool their heels at an elegant private dinner at the home of Chloé executive vice president Karin Gregersen.

THERE CAN BE PERKS TO PLAYING A psychopathic, violence-crazed former drug addict. Just ask Billy Magnussen, who stars as the weapon-loving Claude in Joel Schumacher’s “Twelve,” an ode to the boredom- and substance-abuse-fueled world of a privileged set of New York City high schoolers, opening Aug. 6.

“That was fun. I don’t get to do that every day. I was like, ‘I get to shoot 50 Cent, are you kidding me?’ That was the fi rst person I actually killed,” says Magnussen of knocking off his co-star during an Uzi-induced killing spree. “[Claude’s] a kid who actually just had no love and he’s refl ecting it back on the world. He felt like he got kicked and spit on and s--t on and he’s like, ‘I’m going to give it right back.’”

Fortunately, the actor didn’t have any real-life material to draw on in channeling his character. Born in Queens, Magnussen grew up in Miami, Fla., and Cumming, Ga., the eldest of three sons to a personal-trainer mom and professional-kickboxer-and-bodybuilder-turned-carpenter dad. After graduating from the acting program at the North Carolina School of the Arts, he moved to New York, where he soon landed a role in a Joe Mantello production of “The Ritz” opposite Rosie Perez. He recently fi nished up a three-year stint on “As the World Turns,” will begin shooting the horror fl ick “Watch Island” and just fi nished recording his fi rst album, “Studio Six,” with his band Joy State.

— Vanessa Lawrence

GOOD SPORT: Magnussen wasn’t always focused on an acting career. In high school, he was a “big jock” who wrestled and played soccer and football. But in his junior year, during the wrestling state semifinals, he ripped a hamstring. “I couldn’t take a gym class, so they put me in drama class…I did a school production and I was like, ‘This is fun.’ All the girls were in the class, cute girls,” he says. “And then I found out you can go to college for it, so I was like, ‘This is awesome!’”

IN YOUR FACE: At first the casting director for “Twelve” (based on the novel by Nick McDonell) thought Magnussen, 25, was too old for the film, whose lineup includes Chace Crawford, Emma

Roberts, Rory Culkin and Zoe Kravitz. When she changed her mind, Magnussen gave her an audition to remember.

“I went in to see Joel and everything and I just scared the s--t out of them,” he recalls with a grin. “I licked the casting director’s face. [It was just about] intimidation.” FULLY ARMED: Once he had the part, an already fit Magnussen embarked on a rigorous physical transformation to embody Claude, who had just come out of a boot-camp rehab program. “I gained 25 pounds — I worked out for four months, five times a week, had protein shakes, watched my diet,” says the actor. “It was a film with Joel Schumacher and 50 Cent — you have to step up to the plate.”

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“I went in to see Joel [Schumacher] and everything and I just scared the s--t out of them.” — BILLY MAGNUSSEN ON AUDITIONING FOR “TWELVE”

KILLER INSTINCT

HOT SHOTS

EYE SCOOPFor the last few years, the Watermill Center’s annual summer benefi t has been a cacophony of artists, socials and the socially ambitious. A vibrant scene for sure, but lacking in celebrity. (Which, depending on your point of view, could be a good or bad thing.) Well, that’s about to change. Sharon Stone will be attending this year’s Paradiso bash on July 24. But the actress won’t be there solely for kicks; she’ll be assisting Simon de Pury with calling the live auction. Stone’s a fi erce and energetic auctioneer —she’s been known to spontaneously sell a kiss in the name of charity — and she’ll have some major lots from artists including Marina Abramovic and Donald Judd helping her separate the wealthy from their wallets. In addition, International Flavors & Fragrances perfumer Loc Dong, who worked on Marc Jacobs’ signature scent and Island Michael Kors, has created a custom fragrance, WM, Watermill Paradiso Scent, of which 100 bottles will be up for grabs. No doubt Stone would prefer you dab a bit behind your ears pre-smooch.

Olivia Chantecaille in Chloé.

Doutzen Kroes in

Chloé.

� Lauren Santo Domingo in Chloé.

Billy Magnussen

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More pictures at WWD.com/eyescoop.