Fashion. Beauty. Business.

DAILY EDITION 23 MAY 2016 1

BEHIND THE CURTAINCouture open houses offer a look at the art’s inner workings. PAGES 6 AND 7

ART LOVERSLisa and Richard Baker showcase Tania Brasseco and Lazlo Passi Norberto. PAGE 10

DYNAMIC DENIMGoogle and Levi’s display the fruits of their collaboration. PAGE 3

RETAIL

Lundgren’s Vow:Macy’s to MakeA Comeback ● The ceo explained the

rebound would be based partly on new strategies gaining scale.

BY DAVID MOIN

CINCINNATI — Despite the sharp slump in business and pressures to increase shareholder value, Terry J. Lundgren breezed through another annual meet-ing, during which the Macy’s Inc. chair-man and chief executive officer several times emphasized “agility” and “experi-mentation” as keys to a better future.

At the meeting held Friday at Macy’s headquarters here, Lundgren predicted a rebound for the company in the not-too-distant future, stating, “We view the setbacks of 2015 and early 2016 as a setup for a comeback that we expect to begin in the second half of 2016 and move forward from that point.”

Later, in a meeting with media, Lund-gren explained the comeback would be based partly on new strategies gaining scale, such as the new Last Act clear-ances areas, the new Backstage off-price format and the Bluemercury beauty, skin-care and spa business owned by Macy’s.

With Backstage, Lundgren acknowl-edged there is a “learning curve”

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The Cannes Can-CanIsabeli Fontana was hardly the only nearly-naked catwalker at Thursday night’s disco-themed amfAR gala in Cap d’Antibes (in fact, it seemed to be a ratio of 10 to 1, models to mortals). Fontana chose a sparkly, barely-there look from Alexandre Vauthier for the occasion.For more from inside the biggest bash of the Cannes Film Festival, see page 13.

BUSINESS

Watch Sales, Tourism Weigh On Richemont● Luxury giant starts new fiscal

year with double-digit declines in sales.

BY SAMANTHA CONTI

LONDON — Richemont can’t wait until fall arrives.

After a dismal 2015-16 fiscal year due to abrupt changes in tourism and ongoing problems in Hong Kong that forced the luxury group to buy back watches and melt them down, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is looking toward October as the earliest it might see any uptick — and not because business will be getting better but because annual comparatives will start to get a little easier.

The current year has begun with a whimper, although sales growth in the month of April declined in the double digits. That drop was on top of a tough fiscal 2016. Richemont’s profit for the year ended March 31 rose 67 percent to

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAMELA FIRESTONE, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER AT 212 256 8103 OR PFIRESTONE@WWD.COM

Men’s Fashion Weeks

ISSUE: June 15CLOSE: June 1

MATERIALS: June 6

ISSUE: June 7CLOSE: May 24

MATERIALS: May 27

ISSUE: July 13CLOSE: June 29

MATERIALS: July 4

NYFW: Men’s PreviewMilan PreviewPitti Uomo Preview

An Advertising Opportunity

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● CEO lays out plans for the future.

BY HOLLY HABER PLANO, Tex. — J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is not out of the woods, but it expects this year to post its first positive earnings per share since 2010.

Speaking at the annual meeting at company headquarters, president and chief executive officer Marvin Ellison projected the retailer would post $1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation in 2016. At the same time last year, he had called for $1.2 billion in earnings before interest, taxes and amortization by 2017.

“We admittedly had a slower first-quarter in revenue than we had anticipated,” he acknowledged. “However, we still outper-formed every one of our key competitors during that time frame and believe that we can still deliver a strong financial year in sales, gross margin, [selling, general and administra-tive expenses], and our adjusted EPS, which we believe will be our first positive EPS since 2010.”

Last week the retailer reported a 1.6 percent decline in first-quarter sales and a net loss of $69 million, or 22 cents a diluted share — an improvement over the prior year. Revenue for the three months ending April 30 decreased to $2.81 billion from $2.85 billion a year earlier, while comparable sales slid 0.4 percent.

Ellison’s game plan calls for strengthening private brands, continuing to elevate omni-channel performance and wringing more money out of existing customers through new

merchandise initiatives.He gave no details about private brands

except to say the company had 200 designers and was working to make its labels “stronger and better, which drives differentiation and creates more profit.”

Omnichannel functionality has been a priority since Ellison came aboard, but he admitted the company is still behind. Progress has been made in mobile sales and by the end of August, all stores will have the ability to fulfill an order that a shopper bought online the same day.

“We have virtually the same number of active customers, who shop us at least once a year, today as we had back in 2011, with $5 billion less revenue,” Ellison pointed out. “We have to create more opportunities for custom-ers to shop us more frequently and buy more when they come in.”

In-store Sephora shops are one of the firm’s best performers and will be rolled out to 60 more units this year for a total of 600, he noted. In addition, the “center core” acces-sories departments next to Sephora will be

upgraded by the end of the second quarter, he added.

The company began selling 1,200 appli-ances online this week and is rolling the category out to 500 locations, he noted.

“We heard loud and clear from our custom-ers that if we sold appliances they would buy them from us,” he explained. “In test loca-tions, we are very pleased with the results, and as the benefactor of that, we should have these in 500 stores this year, and we think that will give our customers a reason to spend more with us.”

Ellison also cited a co-branding relationship with Disney for Okidoki children’s clothing and the rebranding of its 800 salons with InStyle as important partnerships.

He also thanked company chairman Myron E. “Mike” Ullman for his guidance during the firm’s darkest days.

“Mike ran the company at a time when it performed at its highest level,” Ellison said. “In a very gracious manner, he came back during the most difficult time in the compa-ny’s history to take on what people thought was an impossible situation. Without his stewardship, steady hand and leadership, I can easily say this great company would not be here.”

Only one shareholder stood to ask a ques-tion, asking whether restructuring costs due to management changes would decline and when several lawsuits might be wrapped up.

Ellison responded that costs would go down as he has a team in place, and Ullman replied that he could not comment on litigation.

RETAIL

J.C. Penney on RightTrack: Marvin Ellison

Cannes 2016: Inside The AmfAR Gala● The 23rd edition of amfAR’s annual Cinema Against AIDS gala was an epic affair that kept revelers on the French Riviera partying into the wee hours.

● They Are Wearing: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia

● Cannes Fashion 2016

● Men’s Fall 2016 Trend: Supersize Me

● Kanye West Regrets None Of His Tweets, Wants to Work With Payless

Global Stock TrackerAs of close May 20, 2016

ADVANCERS

DECLINERS

G-III Apparel Group Ltd. +1.03%

Movado Group Inc. +0.72%

Revlon Inc. +0.52%

Iconix Brand Group Inc. +0.40%

Elizabeth Arden Inc. +0.37%

The Buckle inc. -5.05%

Urban Outfitters Inc. -4.32%

Hanesbrands Inc. -3.80%

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. -3.62%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. -3.39%

TOP 5TRENDINGON WWD.COM

● The item is the first garment created through Project Jacquard, a partnership to develop interactive denim.

BY MAGHAN MCDOWELL

Today, Google and Levi’s reveal the first garment that was created through Proj-ect Jacquard, a partnership to develop interactive denim woven with conductive fibers.

At Google’s developer conference, the two iconic San Francisco companies — one bred through the gold rush, the other through the digital age — shared the Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket, designed for the urban cyclist.

As Levi Strauss & Co. vice president of global product innovation Paul Dillinger said, it was important to create some-thing useful with this technology. “Unless there’s a good product, there’s no point.”

The jacket’s sleeve includes conductive yarn woven into the fabric, made on a loom just as any other fabric, and allows the wearer to control and connect to services such as music and maps. The wearer can control the functionality

with swipes and taps to touch-enabled areas on the wrist portion of the jack-et’s sleeve, and uses an app to program functionality.

The electronics are stored in a remov-able smart tag; everything else is wash-able and looks and acts like a traditional denim jacket. The Jacquard yarn com-bines thin, metallic alloys with yarns — cotton, polyester or silk — and is strong enough to be woven on industrial looms.

In other words, don’t call this a “wear-able.” “We think of it as a smart garment — a connected garment,” explained Goo-gle’s Ivan Poupyrev, a technical program lead at the company’s Advanced Tech-nology and Projects, or ATAP, division. “We were thinking about enhancing and extending the functionality of a garment, with the same materials and same tech-niques as any normal Levi’s jacket.”

The jacket will arrive in Levi’s stores and web site in the spring of 2017, and although the price will be slightly above the average jacket, it will be within the range of Levi’s current product assort-ment, Dillinger said.

Although this is the first iteration of what is possible, Poupyrev said he is excited about the possibilities and what

developers might create. Google has not yet shared the developer kit that will enable creators to apply their own designs and functionality to the tech-nology, as the first focus, he said, was creating a jacket that could stand on its own as a great product.

The partnership was introduced at last year’s developer conference, where the two shared their vision of creating garments that acted as a platform. “This isn’t a launch, it’s a platforming opportu-nity,” Dillinger said. “It becomes a home to new forms and applications that we haven’t thought of yet.”

Ultimately, objects with fabrics, from clothes to furniture, can become interac-tive surfaces. “We want to make a point that it’s a new category of product,” Poupyrev said. “And this is the first prod-uct that is emerging.”

FASHION

Google Creates Levi’s Jacket

The Levi’s Commuter Trucker jacket was made with Google

using Jacquard technology.

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ReviewsRochas Resort 2017“Sensual innocence” was the seemingly contradic-tory theme creative director Alessandro dell’Acqua explored for Rochas this season. Dresses exuded a delicate femininity, executed in featherweight fabrics and with ruffles or detailed plissés soleils, like the lace intarsia and the flower appliqués that decorated one side of flowing frock in cotton muslin. It was a sweetness combined with seductive features: plunging V-necks, side slits and dropped shoulders. While Dell’Acqua’s signature neutral pal-ette — whites, powder tones — was in evidence, it was enhanced by flashes of color, especially vibrant in a calf-length red dress decorated with white flowers and an apron-style blue taffeta gown with a dramatic shoulder bow detail.

A few tomboyish looks tempered the girlyness. Case in point: knee-length white trousers shown with

a Lurex blouse and tailored cashmere coat. — ALESSANDRA TURRA

Valentina Kova Resort 2017Daybreak — the sight of the sun rising over a beach — inspired Valentina Kova’s resort collection, its palette of gray, blush and flesh tones evoking “that time of morning where the sky is not yet blue,” as the designer put it. Kova, who favors solid separates in luxurious fabrics, offered mostly fluid versions that could transition from day into evening. For example, a white sheer trench could work either as a swimsuit cover-up or, in a more urbane setting, with a cami-sole and trousers; and a lovely flared bolero could slip equally well over an evening gown or a day slip. — MAYTE ALLENDE

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THEY ARE WEARING

Cult Following● The first two days of the Comme des Garçons x Dover Street

Market Super-Market-Market sample sale drew a flock of seekers of high-style deals. Many opted for comfortable footwear (smart move, given the lines) and a black palette. But there were plenty of patterns, prints and logos, too, including at least one public display of affection for CDG.

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● Journées Particulières, or “open days,” takes visitors inside the couture process.

BY PAULINA SZMYDKE

Rendezvous at 30 Avenue Montaigne.

It’s 10:45 on Friday morning, the first day of the Journées Particulières, or “open days,” at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brands, and the waiting line to access the couture work-shop of Christian Dior already stretches around the corner to Rue François 1er.

Inside, visitors walk up the grand staircase, which once served as a run-way and auditorium to stars including Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Hum-phrey Bogart and Marlene Dietrich, their black-and-white photographs still bedecking the town house’s signature light gray walls.

Dietrich used to live across the street at the Plaza Athénée with her lover Jean Gabin, the group learns. As the story goes, the moody actress, who was a great fashion aficionado and a loyal customer, demanded to be dressed by Mr. Dior for her role in Alfred Hitch-cock’s “Stage Fright.” “No Dior, no Diet-rich,” she reportedly told the director, who had no choice but to pay for the costumes.

“The power of Dior is that the cre-ation and realization — so the studio

and the atelier — are both under one roof and that creates a symbiosis, which is what Mr. Dior himself wanted,” explained the firm’s president and chief executive officer Sidney Toledano, taking WWD on a private tour. Indeed, there is constant movement between the floors. Studio directors Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier, who stepped into the spotlight following Raf Simons’ departure last fall, are sitting on the floor against the backdrop of a large mood board spanning the entire wall in one room, while an army of tailors dressed in white smocks rushes through the corridors outside.

It’s the beginning of the couture season, which will climax with a show in July.

All the while, private orders, many of which are sumptuous wedding gowns, scream for attention.

“People always ask me: ‘Is couture dead?’ And I say: ‘The contrary is the case. We will always find a clientele — she might be more Brazilian or more Chinese at times. But the real question is: ‘Who will make that next dress?” Toledano said.

Between five to six seamstresses work on one style, which requires between 600 and 700 hours of work. “We employ about 100 artisans permanently, before the shows we take on another 30, but we need more. We really need

to train more people,” the executive revealed, adding: “It’s the goal of days like these to give the public a glimpse of what we do, but also to attract a new generation of apprentices. Come on, let me show you something,” he said, before leading up to a loft-like space on one of the upper levels, which will house the future tailoring workshop managed by Kamil Arslan. This way, he explained, the atelier flou, where Dior’s dresses are created under the helm of Florence Chehet, whose influence has been revealed in the 2014 documen-tary “Dior and I,” will have more room downstairs. “It will also allow us to finally hire more apprentices,” Tole-dano enthused.

At Moynat, which is participating for the first time after being acquired in 2010 by LVMH’s chairman and ceo Bernard Arnault via his investment vehi-cle Groupe Arnault, the generational change is already in full swing. Eight of the 10 artisans that are hard at work that day stitching together the brand’s signature Pauline, Réjane and Vanity bags, are in their 20s. The atelier’s technical director Jonathan Rebouh, an imposing figure with large hands, called it “the Moynat generation.” “I receive CVs every day, but we just don’t have enough space around here,” he said of the small two-level workshop hidden in a quiet Parisian street behind

the Marché Saint Honoré. It takes three to four days to produce one leather good, which is traditionally sewn with two needles attached to one thread, rendering it “virtually indestructible,” he said. A young woman in a corner assembles millimeter-thin pieces of a marquetry pouch as if she was laying a puzzle. When touching the surface, one feels no difference between the colored parts of the train motif and the pouch’s background.

A few streets away, on the Place Vendôme, Paris’ jewelry hub, Chaumet’s ceo Jean-Marc Mansvelt, said opening the doors to the public is an important tool to attract a younger generation of customer. The storied label, which dates back to 1780 and used to be a favorite of Napoleon and his fashion-obsessed wife Joséphine, has initiated a number of projects to attract Millennials. A mini-movie the brand shot about Joséphine in 2015 generated just almost five million views. Another feature about weddings seen through the eye of Chaumet, which premiered three weeks ago, has already been seen by 700,000 people, he said. Aggressive marketing has never been the house’s forte. “We are so not bling, bling,” Mansvelt said. “Chaumet is about discretion.” Ironically, the house’s signature piece is the tiara, of which it still creates two to three a per year, with each requiring roughly 1,500 hours of crafty handwork.

Wandering between the stations set up to demonstrate how a piece of Chaumet jewelry comes to life, a group of visitors grilled a senior artisan about every step of the process: How are the diamonds held together with so little metal? How does he know where to put the stones? And who will wear the tiara in the end?

He smiled calmly. “The transmission of our savoir faire is key,” he said, mus-ing how a young Chaumet apprentice, barely out of school, has already won

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A Look Behind the Veil of Couture

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Antoine and Bernard Arnault posing with the group of artisans.

the Gold Medal of France in jewelry.But don’t get fooled. “It’s difficult [to

build the next generation],” attested Antoine Arnault, who spearheaded the group’s open days project. “Today, people prefer to work in digital, not perform a manual job, but these jobs are beautiful and they are also the jobs of the future; we just need to valorize them and make them as important as they are,” the son of Bernard Arnault told WWD during the preview of a photo exhibit celebrating the luxury group’s army of artisans on Thursday.

Arnault said he would make the rounds, visiting some of the 40 brands and 50 work sites belonging to the luxury conglomerate that have opened their doors for a three-day run which ended Sunday, including Berluti, Dom Pérignon, Fred and Guerlain.

At Givenchy in Paris, visitors were particularly interested in finding out more about designer Riccardo Tisci’s creative process, who with his dark and mysterious aesthetic attracts the likes of Beyoncé and Julianne Moore. “Riccardo has an affection for the skele-ton of the human,” revealed a seam-stress. “He likes to expose its structure through fabric.” She explained that Tisci’s experimental, see-through couture involves one thing especially: “scientific research.”

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● The house of Valentino provides the fashion.

BY LUISA ZARGANI

ROME — “I’m wondering if she should go for true love or not. What do you think?” mused Francis Ford Coppola speaking of the main character Violetta during the first intermission on Sunday evening of “La Traviata,” directed by his daughter Sofia.

Of her first foray into theater direction, he said he “loved the simple and classic” approach she took. The Coppolas, joined by other family members, will now head to the Southern region of Basilicata to luxury resort Palazzo Margherita, owned by Coppola senior. “Sofia likes to rest there, that’s whtraviataere she got mar-ried,” he added.

Silvia Venturini Fendi said the direc-tion of the opera “reflects the character of Sofia. She is very refined and I can see her way of thinking in every act.” Asked about the ongoing relevance of this opera, the designer said “there is nothing more current than the pains of love, actually we should talk about them more.”

“It’s beautiful to die for love, no? But it doesn’t happen anymore,” said Monica Bellucci, who may have been taking tips for her next role — an opera singer. She was mum on the film’s details, though.

“Fabulous” was Elizabeth Hurley’s comment, adding that she loved Sofia Coppola’s “fresh take. “Sometimes it’s more exciting to listen than to watch, but in this case, it’s nice to do both.”

“Awesome,” echoed Kanye West, add-ing that that was all he would say. “My husband always takes me to the opera — we love to go,” said Kim Kardashian. “This is our second anniversary, with Valentino again.” Diane von Furstenberg, who came expressly for the event; Frida Giannini and her husband Patrizio Di Marco; Luke Evans; Fendi chief executive officer Pietro Beccari; Vanessa Beecroft and Keira Knightley were among the guests, who gave Sofia Coppola, Val-entino Garavani, Giancarlo Giammetti, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli a standing ovation as they took a bow on the stage. Knightley’s husband James Righton was expected to perform after the dinner held by the couturier and Chi-uri and Piccioli at the Roman Aquarium.

The Teatro dell’Opera on Friday pre-sented its own “dream team” ahead of the debut of the performance on Sun-day — a production by Valentino and his longtime business partner Giammetti. The couturier was flanked by the director Coppola, and Chiuri and Piccioli, creative heads of the Valentino brand.

The unique conjunction of music, fash-ion and the cinema has already worked wonders for the theater, which as of Fri-day had rung up 1.2 million euros, or $1.3 million, in ticket sales against a total cost of almost $2 million for the production — way before the first aria had even been sung — and drawing requests for tours to Japan and Valencia, according to the theater’s superintendent Carlos Fuortes.

No matter. Valentino had less prosaic issues at heart. “We hope the opera can be less intimidating. I have nothing against rock concerts, but this is much

more romantic and visually beautiful,” Valentino said. “Ever since I was a child, I loved the music, the history, how the per-formers were positioned on the stage.”

“Fashion and the movies can bring

a new, young audience to the opera,” Chiuri said. “They may find it difficult to approach it, it’s like with haute couture — but you can end up loving what you don’t know,” she said, admitting she and Piccioli were latecomers to the genre, discovering it only in 2014. “And now my daughter is curious about it.”

Piccioli remarked: “Cinema, fashion and opera, together they can bring some-thing new with different points of view.”

While details of the looks were asked to be kept under wraps on Friday, Valen-tino did say he designed four gowns for Violetta, the main character, “in one hour and a half,” and “not entirely inspired by the Victorian period,” when the opera is set. He revealed there would be “a touch of red, it’s logical, it’s my color,” he said with a smile.

Chiuri and Piccioli designed costumes for Flora Bervoix, Violetta’s friend, and the chorus, for a total of 1,200 looks. “We wanted to interpret them from Sofia’s point of view. We liked that Sofia wanted to enhance the character of Violetta,

and make her more contemporary,” said Piccioli. “She wanted a less solemn and more personal tone. It’s a work of sub-traction, taking away what is redundant in the historical context of the 1800s.”

Describing their efforts to get Coppola on board, Valentino said he and Giam-metti “really wanted” the director, her “fresh, new approach.” The designer recalled “the power she injected in [the 2006 movie that Coppola directed] ‘Marie Antoinette.’”

For her part, Coppola confessed her initial reluctance. “It was a completely different world from what I was used to, and I didn’t know what to expect. I thought I didn’t have the courage, but then I realized what an incredible opportunity this was. They motivated me to do something scary and unfamiliar,” she said, remarking proudly that she was “a distant cousin” of Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, and that she came from a family of musicians.

“I approached ‘La Traviata’ keeping the focus on the beautiful music and cos-tumes, trying to find a part of the charac-ter [Violetta] I can relate to and connect to, creating something that I would want to watch,” explained Coppola.

Giammetti underscored that this was “the first cultural operation” for the Fondazione Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti. He revealed proj-ects in the pipeline with friend Eleonora Abbagnato, director of the Teatro dell’Op-era’s ballet. “We have a dream for the foundation, we are looking for a location in Rome to house a Valentino museum,” Giammetti said.

“La Traviata,” directed by Jader Bignamini, with scenes by British pro-duction designer Nathan Crowley, whose previous work includes “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” will be open to the public from Tuesday to June 30.

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Sofia Coppola’s Opera Debut: ‘La Traviata’

Costume sketch: Violetta by

Valentino Garavani

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Keira Knightley

Pierpaolo Piccioli and Luke EvansSofia Coppola

Olivia Palermo and Valentino Garavani

23 MAY 2016 9

● The luxury retailer expects to attract New Yorkers, Jerseyans and international tourists.

BY SHARON EDELSON

Saks Fifth Avenue president Marc Metrick on Friday discussed the retailer’s rationale for some of its moves on the other side of the river to bolster the retailer’s position “as the unmatched leader for luxury.”

Metrick divulged that Saks will close its 107,000-square-foot unit at The Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, N.J., in anticipation of opening a 131,906-square-foot store at Amer-ican Dream, the three million-square-foot

shopping and entertainment center rising in East Rutherford, N.J.

“We’re looking at the back of 2017 to the front of 2018 time frame,” Metrick said of Saks’ opening. Hudson’s Bay Co., which owns Saks, also signed leases for a 119,605-square-foot Lord & Taylor and 30,000-square-foot Saks Off 5th at American Dream.

“What we’re doing is closing one store and opening a very powerful store outside that market,” Metrick said. “When you build powerful centers with a reason for people to come and see things, they’ll drive a little farther.”

American Dream has an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to retail and

entertainment. In addition to a luxury area, where Saks will reside, an off-price zone will feature Primark, Century 21 and Saks Off 5th. Some 500 inline stores will include Banana Republic, Zara and Victoria’s Secret. Those looking for diversions will find a Dreamworks-themed amusement park, water park, Big Snow America indoor ski slope, aquarium and NHL-sized ice skating rink, as well as a variety of dining options.

With American Dream in its sights, Saks in 2014 closed its store at The Shops at Riv-erside in Hackensack, N.J. Hermès also has revealed its defection from the The Shops at Riverside. The French luxury house plans to open an 8,000-square-foot store on two levels at the East Rutherford project.

Metrick said Saks is in the process of “drawing plans up and we are confident” of signing Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Givenchy as four of the eight “large, power-ful designer presentations we plan on doing. There will be very distinct branding. They’re technically all inside of the store but will have frontage and windows.”

American Dream will have everything “you read about department stores needing to create excitement and energy,” Metrick said. “It will be high end, delivered in a very new and modern way.”

Don Ghermezian, president of Triple Five Group, which is developing American Dream, said the center will draw 40 million people annually from the metropolitan Tristate area and as far as Philadelphia.

“The proximity to New York City will be unbelievable,” Metrick said. “All key markets of New Jersey are easily accessi-ble. The amount of local and international traffic with people that will drive by that center after landing at Newark International Airport…”

Women’s apparel will focus on designer and advanced designer collections, and advanced contemporary sportswear. “It will be more avant-garde and more fashion,” Metrick said.

The store design will have “more of an open layout and free flow. We’re testing a lot of environments,” Metrick said. Fra-grance will receive an elevated approach with brands in limited distribution. “I’m a believer that zone of business sets the tone for the store,” he said.

Saks’ signature 10022-Shoe department will be part of the lineup. Men’s categories will be lifestyle oriented with a big push for men’s footwear. Again, the focus will be on advanced designer and designer labels.

Asked how Saks will fare in an environ-ment where families with small children will be clamoring for the amusements and budget shoppers will be hitting the off-price floor hard, Metrick was pragmatic. “We have to embrace the fact that the world is very small right now. You can shop online any-where you want. We have an Off 5th on 57th Street,” he said. “There’s very little cross-over of customers. If people are aspirational and want to experience luxury at Saks Fifth Avenue, it’s there for them. I don’t think any-one is a discount shopper or luxury shopper anymore. Everyone is just a shopper.”

RETAIL

Saks Places Eggs in American Dream Basket

● Even within Millennials, there are differences in purchasing behaviors.

BY VICKI M. YOUNG

Retailers have it wrong when they focus just on age as the key demographic in tar-geting consumers when it comes to apparel purchases.

A study conducted jointly by global strat-egy and management consulting firm A.T. Kearney and market research firm The NPD Group concluded that there are opportuni-ties across all generations, as well as other attributes that are relevant purchase drivers within each group.

While Millennials — the 83.1 million adults between 18 to 34, representing 38 percent of total spending in U.S. apparel sales — do surpass other generations in terms of the sheer volume of items purchased in key apparel categories, NPD chief industry ana-lyst Marshal Cohen said within the Millennial generation, the one thing “many retailers fail to understand is that not all Millennials are

created equal. Depending on lifestyle and life stage, Millennials could be more — or less — likely to buy your brand.”

The study also found that in apparel pur-chases among three generations of shoppers — Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers — age is just one factor to consider as life stage, lifestyle and attitude toward fashion can be equally important considerations.

The report focused on four categories: jeans, dresses, activewear and bras. Helen Rhim, a principal in the consumer and retail practice of A.T. Kearney, said these four rep-resented the most commonly purchased cat-egories: jeans and activewear for men and women, and dresses and bras for women.

She said, generally, there wasn’t any “significant” difference between men and women within any group, although the attri-butes of life stage and lifestyle impacted the shopping behavior across all generational groups. And those who consider themselves fashionistas shopped for all brands, not just high fashion. Further, within Millen-nials there was another data point: Single Millennials tend to be heavier purchasers of

apparel than married Millennials, and Mil-lennials with children are more likely to be heavier purchasers of jeans and activewear than dresses and bras.

“Retailers and apparel brands really to need to look at a multidimensional approach to targeting their consumers,” Rhim said.

Although the $12.3 billion U.S. market for men’s and women’s denim slipped 4 percent over the past three years, 40 percent of sales were to Gen-Xers, 34 percent to Millennials and 26 percent to Boomers. Within the generational groups, 18 percent of Millen-nials are heavy purchasers, compared with 10 percent of Gen-Xers and 8 percent of Boomers. And fashion forward shoppers are 2.2 times more likely to be heavy purchasers of jeans compared with their traditional fashion peers.

In activewear, a $40.7 billion market in the U.S., sales to Millennials and Gen-Xers were about the same, 40 percent and 39 percent, respectively, with sales to Boomers at 21 percent.

In the $11 billion dress market in the U.S., Gen-Xers and Millennials each account for

37 percent of dress sales, while Boomers accounted for the additional 26 percent. Mil-lennials tend to buy more dresses than other generations, but it is the single Millennial without kids who buys significantly more dresses than Gen-Xers and Boomers. Across the generations, active women bought more dresses than sedentary women, and those who say they have a fashion sense are the most prolific purchasers of the category.

In the U.S. bra category, a $6.2 billion business, Gen-Xers represented 39 percent of sales, followed by Millennials at 37 percent and Boomers at 24 percent. Within Gen-X, those with an active lifestyle bought more bras than their sedentary counterpart, but in the Boomer generation, those that are less active bought more bras than their more active sisters. Across all three generations, those who considered themselves fashion-able were the most prolific buyers of bras.

The study concluded that knowing a shop-per’s life stage, fashion attitude and whether or not the individual has an active lifestyle could improve how brands and retailers con-nect with consumers across generations.

FASHION

A.T. Kearney: Age Only One Factor in Marketing

A rendering of American Dream.

10 23 MAY 2016

● Lisa and Richard Baker held a reception for two artists and their new body of work.

BY SHARON EDELSON

Lisa Baker is an art patron in the spirit of Catherine de’ Medici, albeit on a much smaller scale. As the wife of Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of Hud-son’s Bay Co., she throws her considerable influence and resources behind artists she discovers and feels strongly about.

A case in point: Tania Brassesco and Lazlo Passi Norberto, an Italian couple who lived and worked together in Venice, and are now based in New York.

“We were introduced to the Bakers by the director of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Philip Rylands,” Brassesco said on Thursday, standing in the middle of the 11th floor of Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue flag-ship, which was transformed into a gallery for her and Passi Norberto’s new work and was the site of a cocktail reception in their honor.

“They [the Bakers] invited us two years ago to create a new body of work and invited us to stay with them in the U.S.,” Brassesco said.

When Lisa Baker, who is director and chief curator of HBC’s global art collection, met Brassesco and Passi Norberto in Paris, “It was immediate,” she said. “It was love at first sight. I want to mentor and really sup-port them. They have no gallery representa-tion in New York.”

Baker will bring prospective galleries to see the duo’s work by appointment.

“Behind the Visible,” their new series, consists of more than 20 pieces. A selection of eight works were displayed at the retail-er’s executive floor.

With a medium that fuses photography, cinema, performance and installation, Brassesco and Passi Norberto start each work with the concept of a story, which they draw. “We stage our work like a movie,” Passi Norberto said. “We work a lot with lighting. We make it a [movie] set.”

Every story has elements of the real, unreal and surreal. “Sometimes dreams and mystery are inside us,” Passi Norberto said. “It’s the subconscious.”

“Call of the Wild” shows a girl standing in front of a large house facing four dogs that are posed like a pack of wolves. “The girl is confronted by the wild part of life,” Passi Norberto said. “We’re really into symbolism.”

In “Endless Void,” a man floating in a vast pool of water carries the burden of his thoughts. “He’s not alone in the sea, but is alone with himself and trying to find him-self,” Brassesco said.

Baker, who sits on the photography

committee of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the board of directors of the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell Univer-sity, cited Alex Prager, a fine art photogra-pher known for her cinematic works, as one of her favorites. “She’s someone who really inspires [Brassesco and Passi Norberto],” she said.

“They’re very meticulous with their work. They make their own costumes and sets,” Baker said, adding that Brassesco looked at thousands of butterflies before choosing the exact ones she wanted for “Wander-ing Souls,” an image of a woman lying on the forest floor partially covered with butterflies.

Baker enjoyed having Brassesco and Passi Norberto live in her home. “When they were casting, we had all these actresses and mod-els coming through,” she said. “We lived in Greenwich, Conn., for 20 years. Three years ago, we moved to a house around the corner, but we kept the original house for its James Turrell pool. We’re transforming the basement into a gallery.”

Deferring to his wife’s expertise in art, Richard Baker said, “She has an art foun-dation where she supports and works with

artists.” With regard to his area of mastery — retail — Baker explained, “We believe there’s a great collaboration between art

and fashion. As department store people we need an appreciation for beauty and art and that’s what fashion is.”

RETAIL

Art Show ‘Opens’ at Lord & Taylor

● The parties will head back to court-ordered mediation to resolve ongoing suits over a reality show.

BY ALLISON COLLINS

NEW YORK — Oribe Canales took the stand on Friday to testify in a hearing regarding a once-planned reality televi-sion show set to be produced by Jenni-fer Lopez that was quashed by the board of Oribe Hair Care several years ago.

The dispute stems from the removal of a line in a document that Luxury Brand Partners’ — which owns Oribe Hair Care — chairman Moss Kadey said was removed “at the 11th hour,” regarding the use of products that compete with the Oribe Hair Care line on the show. On the stand, Canales said he would not have allowed competitive products to be referenced in a positive way on the show. “It did not make sense to me as a hairdresser for a competing line to…sponsor the show,” Canales added.

If Canales were to emerge victorious, he’d be walking away with payment of his legal fees, sources said.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Saliann Scarpulla of the Supreme Court of the State of New York told all par-ties they would need to head back into court-ordered mediation to resolve other related lawsuits. Both sides spent much of Thursday attempting to medi-ate the reality television show dispute.

“We’ve had so much mediation it’s a waste of time, but we do what the judge says,” Canales said.

Kadey declined to comment.

BEAUTY

Oribe Canales Testifies at Hearing

“Lost River” by Tania Brassesco and Lazlo

Passi Norberto.

Lazlo Passi Norberto, Tania Brassesco, Lisa

Baker and Richard Baker.

involved with consumers getting familiar with the format, but he said it’s being rolled out, with six already inside Macy’s stores and nine more set for this fall. A seventh freestanding unit is also set to open this fall.

Macy’s sees 250 to 300 possible Backstage shops inside its stores. They are merchandised separately from regular Macy’s stores so the assortment is different with such categories as toys and gourmet food. In the off-price arena, Macy’s is playing catch-up to the competition, including the more mature Nordstrom Rack and Saks Off 5th chains.

He also cited “weak comps” in last year’s fourth quarter, leading to easy comparisons next year, and the unusu-ally warm winter weather “presumably not likely” to reoccur next year. Lund-gren said the company is betting on what’s been the weather pattern of the past 50 years “as opposed to betting on last year.”

“These are relatively easy ways to come back in terms of our overall per-formance,” Lundgren said.

During both his formal presentation to shareholders and meeting with the press, the ceo listed several growth opportunities. They include:

• Increasing the penetration of private brands as well as market brands and products sold exclusively to above the current 40 percent of Macy’s total business;

• Personalization;• Health and wellness, which includes

increasing the number of Bluemercury freestanding stores to 115 by the end of 2017 and in-store shops to 22 by the end of this year;

• Approaching the wedding business in a “nontraditional, multifaceted way” focused on opportunities in rings, dresses, gifts for the wedding party, men’s wear, tuxedos and home goods for new households, in addition to the “already robust gift registry,” as a way to draw more Millennials to the store and potentially convert them into loyal shoppers.

Lundgren also addressed the issue of making Macy’s shopping more experiential, and said one way was to create “mini” flower shows at many Macy’s stores in addition to the handful of major presentations at the Her-ald Square and a few other flagships already. “Is this movement to experi-ence permanent or not? It is hard to say,” he said.

With apparel sales weak at most retail-ers, Lundgren was asked if Macy’s is considering reducing its exposure to the category, which represents 23 percent of the retailer’s total volume of $27 billion. He said the 23 percent has “held fairly steady” and that there would be some reduction in space resulting from Back-stage off-price areas taking some square footage. But he suggested no significant retreat. “I hope everybody else reduces their apparel and we will benefit from that,” Lundgren said.

Responding to a question about Amazon’s growing fashion business, Lundgren said it’s not important to be number one or number two in the standings, adding, “You just can’t chase after someone else’s strategy. You have

to have your own.”Lundgren did hint at the possibility of

Macy’s exploring fast fashion. “We hav-en’t broken that code yet,” he acknowl-edged. Asked if Macy’s would consider operating Zara shops inside its stores, similar to how Nordstrom and Hudson’s Bay operate Topshop and Topman areas in some of their stores, Lundgren flatly replied, “No comment.”

He said for fast fashion, it would almost have to be a private brand approach to form a good strategy.

As is often the case, Lundgren was put in the position of having to defend the department store format, which has once again come under question in light of the recent poor results seen at Macy’s, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney and other retailers. “If department stores were not around today, someone in Silicon Valley or somewhere would be inventing them,” he said.

Department stores have challenges and need changes, he acknowledged, but “I don’t think the concept of depart-ment stores is going away.”

The meeting itself drew 225 Macy employees, about 75 shareholders, and only one question from the audience, which was more of an observation. Jim McKay, an architecture professor from Chicago and a regular at Macy’s annual meetings, said there are people in Chicago who still want Marshall Field’s back on State Street. It’s been Macy’s since shortly after Macy’s took over May Department Stores in 2005. The storm of protest over the conversion has died way down.

Behind the scenes, Macy’s has been under pressure from some activist shareholders to create more shareholder value by monetizing certain real estate, but there was no sign of that at the meeting.

Lundgren did address the issue, reiterating that Macy’s is “exploring partnerships or other joint venture arrangements for the company’s owned mall-based properties as well as Macy’s real estate assets in Manhattan, San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis.”

Last year, Macy’s sold the underuti-lized upper floors of the Seattle store for $65 million to a developer converting the space to offices. Macy’s still owns the lower floors for its store. In Brook-lyn, the company struck a $275 million with Tishman Speyer to redevelop the space into a more compact, modern store, with offices above. This year, Macy’s hired Doug Sesler as executive vice president of real estate to explore real estate opportunities.

During the press meeting, Lundgren was accompanied by Macy’s chief finan-cial officer Karen Hoguet. They were asked whether activist shareholders were satisfied with the steps being taken on the real estate front. “The share-holder base in total is quite pleased at how we are looking at real estate,” Hoguet said. “We have support across the shareholder base.”

“We are absolutely in control,” Lundgren added. “We are driving this process….It’s really important to have someone [with real estate experience] reporting to me.”

Lundgren also addressed rumors of his retiring from Macy’s. They come and go. Lundgren is 64 and has had a long, successful career with Macy’s, becoming president and ceo in 2003. “I plan to continue to have a long career,” Lundgren said tongue-in-cheek. “I want to get our comeback going in the right direction before you have me getting thrown out.”

Macy’s comparable sales were down 2.5 percent last year while earnings per diluted share decreased 14.3 percent. So far this year results haven’t been any better. The company has reduced its forecasts for the year, including predict-ing comp-sales down 3 to 4 percent.

“That’s not to say everything has been negative,” Lundgren said in his formal comments to shareholders. “Our very powerful digital business at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s continued to grow by double digits, year-over-year. We significantly increased fulfillment capacity with a new direct to consumer megacenter in Tulsa, Okla. Merchandise categories such as active apparel, shoes, denim, furniture and mattresses have

been doing great. We tested and vetted a variety of new and interesting ideas.

“So rather than fixating on the past, we are filled with ideas intended to drive the business forward.”

The last five quarters, he added, have “presented challenges that have caused us to pause, reflect and hit the reset button on our priorities and ambitions. But it was also instructive, forcing us to let go of some of the things that worked in the past...Agility has become a very important word in our corporate vocabulary.”

Lundgren also said, “We are letting go of initiatives that are not leading to long-term returns for shareholders.” Later, he declined to specify those initiatives.

23 MAY 2016 11

Lundgren’s Vow:Macy’s to MakeA Comeback CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Terry J. Lundgren

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2.23 billion euros, or $2.45 billion, while sales increased 6.4 percent to 11.08 billion euros, or $12.19 billion on a reported basis.

But the underlying figures tell another story: Profits were propped up by gains from the merger last year of Net-a-porter with Yoox, while the luxury giant also benefited from the non-recurrence of losses due to the revaluation of the Swiss franc in January 2015.

The merger and formation of Yoox Net-a-porter Group, now listed on the Milan Bourse, drove a one-off, non-cash, pre- and post-tax accounting gain of 639 million pounds, or $703 million, in the year. Following the com-pletion of the rights issue by the Emaar Prop-erties Group earlier this year, Richemont’s equity interest in YNAP is now 49 percent, and it holds 25 percent of the voting rights.

Operating profit for the year was down 23 percent. Excluding one-off charges and a gain from a real estate disposal in the prior year, it fell 11 percent to 2.06 billion euros, or $2.27 billion. Sales on a constant currency basis were down 1 percent. In the full year, first-half sales growth was in the double digits, followed by declines in the second half.

“Our concerns over geopolitical risks and the impact on the behavior of our clients proved justified,” said the company’s chair-man Johann Rupert. “Europe turned negative in mid-year, and trading conditions in Hong Kong and Macau remained difficult. Only mainland China showed good growth.”

In the month of April, the start of the new fiscal year, sales declined by 18 percent and 15 percent on a reported and constant rates basis, respectively, with all regions delivering sales declines. Rupert said the performance was largely anticipated.

He said Asia-Pacific, Richemont’s largest sales region, remains weak due to “no recov-ery” in the famously high-margin markets of Hong Kong and Macau. The figures were only partially offset by continued improvement in mainland China, which was up 26 percent on a constant-rate basis in the month.

Following the announcement, Richemont’s shares were down 2 percent to 60.35 Swiss francs, or $61.03. Richemont shares closed down 4.3 percent at 58.95 Swiss francs, or $59.62.

Dollar figures have been converted at aver-age exchange rates for the periods to which they refer.

During a conference call, Richemont’s chief executive officer Richard Lepeu said the ongoing crisis in Hong Kong — due partly to shrinking footfall from Chinese tourists; a gov-ernment crackdown on bribery, and prices that were too high — forced the company into buying back some of its watches and, in certain cases, making them disappear.

“It’s happening primarily in Hong Kong — not in the U.S. or the U.K. Some of the watches are bought back from the dealers and relocated to other regions, while others are taken off the market and dismantled. The diamonds are collected and the gold is melted down,” he said.

Lepeu, who described the year’s overall performance as “disappointing,” declined to say how much watch stock was bought back from the dealers, but said the move was “exceptional” and aimed at preserving the quality of the inventory and helping the group’s partners in Hong Kong.

“Dealers have been facing a significant decrease in demand for watches due to the anticorruption measures,” said Lepeu, adding that the strengthening of the Hong Kong dol-lar also meant that prices could not compete with those in Europe and Japan.

Gary Saage, Richemont’s chief financial officer, added during the call that the watches most likely to be dismantled are newer models that are not proving popular on the shop floor.

Asked why Richemont doesn’t simply store the watches in a vault and wait for better times, Saage said: “We tend to recycle commodities,” rather than take a view on the appeal of certain styles and prices going forward.

In a report published on Friday, Citi’s Thomas Chauvet pointed out that Richemont and its competitors can no longer rely on Hong Kong and Macau to generate watch sales.

“Richemont benefited from the watch ‘supercycle’ between 2004 and 2012. During that exceptional growth cycle, watch players added a lot of new wholesale doors (and channeled possibly too much inventory through third-party distribution); enhanced the mix with the launch of more expensive products (larger, more sophisticated and precious watches), and applied aggressive ‘like-for-like’ pricing in world of production capacity bottlenecks,” Chauvet wrote.

“With the political leadership change in [2012] in China and the China GDP slowdown, the entire watch category stopped growing. An estimated 17 percent of the world’s GDP [Greater China] cannot consume 50 percent of the world’s luxury watches forever. In this new era, post-corruption crackdown, Richemont and its peers operate in a low-growth environment with greater competition

[Apple Watch]; more limited pricing power, production overcapacity, and limited retail expansion, particularly in wholesale,” he added.

Chauvet also pointed out in his report that of the Richemont watch brands, IWC and Panerai were outperforming, while Piaget and Vacheron Constantin were proving a more difficult sell.

In fiscal 2015-16 Richemont’s other product categories fared far better, with jewelry, leather goods and clothing all notching growth. The jewelry houses — Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Giampiero Bodino — saw sales rise 7 percent while sales by the special-ist watchmakers were up 3 percent and those in other categories rose 11 percent.

Asked on the call about the fashion houses’ performances, Saage said it was uneven.

Richemont reported that operating losses in the “Other” products division increased to 94 million euros, or $103.4 million, exclud-ing a one-off gain from a property disposal. The company said the losses were largely attributable to the performances at Dunhill and Lancel.

He said Chloé did “extremely well,” with leather bags enjoying a strong momentum during the year. The high-end, golf-focused brand Peter Millar also outperformed, “despite the difficulties in the U.S. with specialty retailers,” and the golf merchandise remains strong, Saage said. Overall the U.S. and Americas region remained “subdued” with soft watch sales offset by jewelry and clothing.

Montblanc also performed strongly, with a re-visited product offer and good organic sales growth thanks to leather goods and writing instruments.

Saage said Azzedine Alaïa’s performance was “fine,” although he described Dunhill as “difficult.” A “collective internal team” is now

designing the Dunhill collections following the departure of John Ray as creative director earlier this year. There were two net Dunhill store closures last year, while 10 closures are planned for the 2016-17 year.

Regarding Lancel, Saage said the products, management team and new store concept were on target, but the label is suffering from being based in France, where tourism and consumer appetites have dwindled since the terrorist attacks last November.

Shrinking tourist numbers in Europe played a big role in the sales decline in the second half, helping to offset the gains of the first part of the year. Lepeu said sales in the region were “very disrupted by the events in Europe,” with the feel-good factor of the first half evaporating amid urgent safety concerns.

“Since the events in November, Europe is no longer a destination for tourists, and it will be several months before it recovers,” barring any more incidents, he said.

At reported exchange rates, sales in Europe were up 10 percent in the year; 16 percent in the Middle East and Africa; 10 percent in the Americas; and 27 percent in Japan. They fell 4 percent in Asia-Pacific.

In the last fiscal year, Japan presented problems of its own, with the stronger yen keeping the 0nce-enthusiastic Chinese shop-pers at bay. With regard to the Chinese, Lepeu said there now is a “rebalancing” taking place between purchases abroad and those at home, and they are generally buying less when they travel.

In response to the challenges, Richemont said it would continue to “tightly monitor” costs and working capital requirements, and allocate resources in a “highly selective manner.”

On the call Lepeu said there would be no further layoffs this year. Last year, Richemont slashed its Swiss watchmaking workforce of 9,000 by about 5 percent in response to the slowdown in demand. He added that prices would also remain stable.

The Richemont balance sheet remains strong: At the end of March, net cash amounted to 5.34 billion euros, or $5.87 bil-lion, and the board has proposed a dividend of 1.70 Swiss francs, or $1.72, per share, up from 1.60 Swiss francs, or $1.62, per share last year.

While the short-term may be challenging, Rupert sees light on the horizon.

“We are confident in the long-term demand for high-quality products. The group remains committed to supporting its maisons to conceive, develop, manufacture and market products of beauty, individuality and the highest quality,” he said. “These values are enduring, and will see Richemont well-posi-tioned to benefit from an improved market in the years to come.”

12 23 MAY 2016

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● Diane von Furstenberg, Laverne Cox and David Miliband delivered straight-talking pointers.

BY ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

Restless New School grads eager to start celebrating Friday lucked out with a speed round of commencement speakers. In a matter of minutes, Diane von Furstenberg, Laverne Cox and four others doled out straight-shooting advice after receiving their respective honorary degrees.

The event at the Javits Center North was the school’s 80th annual commencement ceremony also lauded activist DeRay McKes-son; the International Rescue Committee’s David Miliband; Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian, and forensic anthropologist Mercedes Doretti. Cox, of “Orange Is the New Black” fame, reminded the crowd how quickly life can turn around, recalling how

four years ago she was toying with the idea of going to grad school since she hadn’t booked an acting job in nearly a year. She will soon be on CBS’ “Doubt” and Fox’s remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Picking up her first honorary degree, Cox said, “I often ask myself, ‘How does a black transgender woman from Mobile, Ala., raised by a single mother from a working class background end up here in this position?’”

Education was a factor, she said, as well as trying to give back from the moment she had an opportunity, a platform…as you move

toward your divinity, be of service. Give back. I believe that is when you will align with a higher purpose for yourselves and more towards your destiny.”

Noting how one in 120 people in the world are fleeing conflict, Miliband encouraged graduates to be engaged with the modern world to not just study it. He also reminded the crowd of how photographer Nilüfer Demir’s image of a drowned boy on the shores of Bodrum crystallized the Syrian refugee crisis and how any one of them could have taken that image.

In a three-minute span, von Fursten-berg also went straight to the chase, telling students, “You have all these doors in front of you and you can decide which door to push. The door that is your door may not be the most glamorous one and maybe it’s an unexpected one, but it’s a very important time for you to really go deep into yourself and think about the person you want to be. And think about where you want to go and just push that door, go there and get any job

because that is where you feel you are being true to yourself.”

The designer also had practical pointers. “Once you have a tiny little job, make sure that you arrive first and, more importantly, leave the last because they will notice you. My second advice that I want to remind you of is that frustrations, rejections, humiliating moments will be your best moments, your best souvenirs. And when you are successful, that will be the story that you will always tell. Also, remember, there are no stupid jobs — only stupid people,” she said to rousing applause. “Another thing for you to know is that all successful people often feel like losers — that didn’t get a reaction?”

In closing, von Furstenberg said, “In the end the most important advice that I can given anyone is the most important relation-ship you have in life is the one that you have with yourself. If you have that, any other relationship is a plus and not a must. And the last thing to remember is that, ‘Fear is not an option.’”

FASHION

Parsons’ Grads Get Commencement Advice

Diane von Furstenberg with The New School’s Joel Towers.

A diamond flower necklace with three detachable brooches by Van Cleef & Arpels.

23 MAY 2016 13

CAP D’ANTIBES, France — A-list stars, a disco-themed fashion show and a seem-ingly endless auction: the 23rd edition of amfAR’s annual Cinema Against AIDS gala was an epic affair that kept revelers on the French Riviera partying into the wee hours.

Kevin Spacey, Helen Mirren, Leonardo DiCaprio, Elle Fanning, Joel Edger-ton, Orlando Bloom, Uma Thurman, Chris Tucker and Adrien Brody were among the presenters at the event, held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.

Katy Perry, Sister Sledge and Village People provided the entertainment, while 2016 Cannes Film Festival jury members Kirsten Dunst, Vanessa Paradis, and Mads Mikkelsen and amfAR chair-man Kenneth Cole sat in the crowd, along with a bevy of millionaires and models.

Fanning arrived with di-rector Nicolas Winding Refn just as reports were filtering in from the press screening of his movie “The Neon De-mon,” in which the 18-year-old has the lead role. The horror film, set in the fashion industry, sharply divided critics at Cannes 2016 with its scenes of flesh-eating and lesbian necrophilia.

“It’s a movie about this fashion world and kind of beauty obsession,” said Fan-ning, wearing a diaphanous Valentino gown. “It’s a movie for girls — I mean it’s all wom-en, you know — and it’s very exciting, and I just love it so much. It’s so different. I think it’s very wacky and will start

lots of discussions.”Edgerton was basking

in the rapturous reception for “Loving,” one of 21 films competing for the coveted Palme d’Or award. Based on the true story of the couple that paved the way for interracial marriage in the United States in the Sixties, the movie directed by Jeff Nichols is already garnering Oscars buzz.

“I knew Jeff had made a special film, but I just hoped that the audience would feel that way too and it was the way it was — it was beauti-ful,” said Edgerton, noting that his character is a man of few words.

“It’s weird — I’ve come out of a couple of films where I talk maybe too much, so it’s

nice to talk very little and, you know, a film is about expression and about capturing thoughts, and so as long as that’s there, words don’t mean as much, sometimes,” the Australian actor mused.

Dunst was relishing the role of juror. “I love the people that I’ve been able to meet. I feel like I have relationships that I’ll have for the rest of my life — it’s been really wonderful,” she enthused.

She and Paradis share a fondness for smoking. The French actress hid her roll-up cigarette behind her back to pose for photographs, but quickly thought better of it, as she laughingly mimed her vaporous Chanel gown

going up in a puff of smoke.The luxury brand

also dressed Juliette Binoche, who has joined forces with talents including Robin Wright and Freida Pinto to launch We Do It Together, a nonprofit pro-duction company dedicated to financing and producing female-driven films.

“I get the feeling that consciences are changing and that there is really a yearning for women to be more involved in the creative process and be recognized,” the French actress said.

Inside the venue, busi-ness took a backseat to entertainment, as Spacey — replacing Sharon Stone as emcee — launched into spot-on impersonations of the

likes of Johnny Carson and Bill Clinton. With a series of zingy one-liners, he roasted everyone from Donald Trump to producer Harvey Weinstein.

“I don’t think Donald Trump would like it here at the Cannes Film Festival. Foreign films contain the two things Donald Trump hates the most — foreigners and reading,” Spacey said in Carson mode. “No, I’m kidding. Donald Trump would probably love it here on the Riviera, because there’s so many casinos to bankrupt.”

Among the auction lots

was a day with the “House of Cards” star in Washington D.C., which sold for 500,000 euros, or $560,000 at current exchange. Guests also bid on a week’s stay at DiCaprio’s home in Palm Springs.

“Now that’s very rare — that’s something only a few hundred Victoria’s Secret models have been able to do,” Spacey joked. “And apparently Orlando Bloom is going to be bidding on that one. No, no, no, it’s fine, it’s fine. He and Katy have an understanding — they don’t mind what goes on near

the desert.”That jibe was a reference

to tabloid reports that the British actor cheated on his girlfriend with Selena Gomez in Las Vegas. Bloom and Perry have been pack-ing on the PDA since arriving in Cannes.

Bidding went strato-spheric on several lots, including the collection of 32 designer outfits modeled by the likes of Karlie Kloss, Jourdan Dunn, Alessandra Ambrosio and Doutzen Kro-es, which sold for 1.4 million euros, or $1.57 million.

Brody, currently on screens in “Manhattan Night,” said he has put his acting career on hold to focus on painting. Going by the artist name Brody, he donated a painting titled “Jumbo Dropfish.”

“The painting tonight is a fish that represents the brightness of fish that live at the darkest depths of this Earth,” the Oscar winner explained. “If you can relate to this and the beauty of the human spirit that must shine bright during the dark times that we are living through today, please bid on this fish.”

It went for 450,000 euros, or $505,000, beating lots by leading artists including Martin Kippenberger, Rich-ard Orlinski and John Arm-leder. The event raised more than $25 million in total. — JOELLE DIDERICH

AmfAR Gala Draws Star-Studded CrowdPresenters included Leonardo DiCaprio and Kevin Spacey, who used the stage to mock Donald Trump during the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Soo Joo Park, Doutzen Kroes, Lara Stone, Barbara Palvin, Karlie Kloss and Irina Shayk.

Vanessa Paradis in Chanel.

Izabel Goulart and Alessandra Ambrosio

Katy Perry in Marchesa.

Elle Fanning in Valentino.

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C L I C K H E R E T O L E A R N M O R E

Is Vice’s Shane Smith The Modern Oprah or Media’s Donald Trump?Is Shane Smith, Vice’s cofounder and chief executive officer, the Oprah for this generation or is he media’s Donald Trump? Is he a vision-ary or a bombastic windbag?

Those were some of the questions posed Thursday night at Hearst Tower during a Q&A with Smith, who wore a suit and tie for the occasion (and toted a glass of Scotch).

Hearst Magazines presi-dent David Carey, who noted that his company holds equity stakes and “sometimes board seats” on some of today’s disruptive media companies, including Vice, opened the talk by introducing the panel’s moderator.

“You’ll have two men on the stage tonight; one hails from Canada, known to be one of the great digital minds of our business, is known to use profanity on a regular basis, disrespects authority. The other person is Shane Smith,” Carey said.

Carey was of course alluding to Hearst’s very own disruptor, Troy Young, who oversees Hearst digital, and had, at one time, been con-troversial for his mandate to separate the company’s print and digital operations with its web titles reporting to site directors, not magazine editors in chief.

“I’m glad all the kids came out,” Smith said, looking out to the audience, before greeting Young. “I expected Hearst to be old and look like us.”

Young began his question-ing, but warned the audience that Smith has the tendency to drift off topic, a slight understatement. The interview began with the interesting tidbit that Smith is one of the richest people in Canada, ranked by Canadian Business last year at No. 72 for a net worth of $1.27 billion.

Smith deflected a bit and talked about how he found success in such a volatile industry.

“I remember when I was young,” he said. “I used to be

a fan — I’m still a huge fan — of Graydon Carter. He came from the same neighborhood as me in Ottawa. He came down here and started Spy Magazine and terrified New York. I was like, ‘A kid from Ottawa can terrify people in New York,’ so that was inspiration number one.”

Smith explained how he has hustled his whole life for money, but there came an “inflection point” once he became rich.

Taking money out of the equation, Smith said he real-ized: “We’re at a huge inflec-tion point not just for media, but for culture.”

Young talked about their shared roots working at rival magazines in Montreal — Young at alternative weekly The Mirror and Smith at Vice magazine.

Smith noted, ironically, that even then Young and his colleagues at the other publi-

cations were slave to the men-tality playing out in traditional media today. Smith, who was living in the office and taking welfare to publish Vice, made deals with Canadian business to springboard his magazine to a national level.

“The Mirror stayed in Mon-treal and tried to consolidate their market. What happened in Montreal, quite frankly, is still happening in media,” he said, noting that the other

titles tried to “undercut” each other. “A $50,000 [ad] page would go for 50 bucks and a cup of coffee. You priced yourselves out of profitability…while you guys were fighting the status quo fight, we made a new fight, and that’s how we won. We won the fight that only we were fighting in. We rigged it.”

Although Smith’s point may hold some truth, there are many media companies doing exactly what Vice is doing in terms of platform expansion — the question is whether they will be able to do it better than the digital firm, or find an alter-native path to success.

Young moved on with a barb, noting that Smith has “developed a reputation as a bombastic voice, in some ways not unlike Trump.”

“The thing that I find inter-esting about you, Shane, is that you are an incredible bulls-----r, but also a wonderful truth teller,” said Young.

“It’s bulls--t before it happens, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy after it happens,” Smith said. “I’m in the self-ful-filling prophecy era now.”

The ceo noted that if you “don’t believe in yourself,” no one else will.

“I think that the biggest — no offense to Hearst, you’re very smart and you make a lot of money, but you guys look so successful, that people are, like, Hearst is f-----g cracking,” he said. “I have a lot of people or whatever on the board, and when you sit with them, you go, ‘You don’t really know what you’re talking about.’”

Smith then went on to forecast the future of cable, explaining, “You’re going to see Viacom implode and probably something happen between Time Warner and Fox and there are going to be like five major media companies [that will] go to two-and-a-half. And then we’re the largest new me-dia company and we’re going to become the fourth-largest or fifth-largest media compa-ny…or the third.”

The ceo noted that he hired Josh Tyrangiel from Bloomberg not because he

has Vice values — he doesn’t, apparently — but because he’s the “enfant terrible of media.” Tyrangiel came to Smith with a plan to help Vice take on the CNNs and the BBCs of the industry.

“Josh is an angry young man who wants to shove it up their asses,” Smith said. “He’s aggressive.”

The ceo’s desire to dom-inate TV with its HBO pro-gramming and its Viceland channel is apparent. Despite broad distribution, Viceland has experienced a few ratings bumps to start, not to mention a dearth of programming to fill a 24/7 broadcast. But the com-pany is working on that with a host of new shows and the renewal of “Gaycation” with Ellen Page and “Weediquette,” a series about alternate uses of marijuana.

“But you haven’t had a hit,” Young jabbed.

“We have,” said a peeved Smith.

“Someone said [to me], is he the modern Oprah?” Young mused, unspooling the question to mean whether the modern media mogul must be equal parts talent and ceo.

Smith said that isn’t a requi-site but noted: “If you’re going to make content you better love content and you’d better understand what it is.”

Later, a young man from the audience asked Smith a more pointed question about how digital firms can succeed on YouTube, which shed light on the bigger problem for media companies today.

“The problem with YouTube was, much like Facebook now…Facebook has bought two-thirds of the new media companies without spending a dime because they own the majority of their mobile,” Smith said. “That’s why we’re trying to get onto all the platforms. If we can monetize on all the platforms, then we can get away from the hegemony of Facebook.”

Smith said Vice sells its own YouTube inventory, but that the video platform takes a fair amount out of the sale to pay their overhead.

“You’re giving another com-pany your manifest destiny,” he said, noting that 85 percent of all online video is Facebook and YouTube. “So unless you’re on those platforms, you’re dead. But if you’re not on those platforms, you’re not making money, and so therein lies the rub. And that’s going to be the biggest challenge going forward for media companies.” — ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

Memo Pad

23 MAY 2016 15

● The designer made the announcement on Instagram.

BY ALLISON COLLINS

Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director, took to Instagram Sunday to unveil a collaboration with NikeLab.

Rousteing’s Balmain designs are worn consistently by the Kardashian clan. His three Instagram posts provided no information regarding design or release date. NikeLab has collaborated with other designers before, including Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci and Sacai’s Chitose Abe.

ACCESSORIES

Olivier Rousteing to Collaborate With NikeLab

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Shane Smith