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Building on its Success in Young Men’s, Southpole Shows its Strength in Juniors

“What do women want?” Freud famously asked, but never quite answered. Too bad he’s not around today with a slightly different query – “what do juniors want?’”

For the solution to that riddle one need only go to Fort Lee, NJ and talk to the folks at Wicked Fashions, Inc., the parent company of such brands as Southpole, Lot 29 and, launched this year, Wckd.

Having enjoyed 17 years of double-digit growth, the company is confident it understands its customer and its market and knows how to deliver a full range of brands that satisfy this desirable demographic.

David Strumeier, the company’s senior vice president of marketing, licensing and new business development, and his colleagues have gained a deep understanding of their consumer through extensive research, just like Freud did. “The best research in the world comes from live focus groups,” said Strumeier. “Based on this invaluable consumer feedback, our merchandise development team is able to give our consumer exactly what she wants and needs in terms of style, fit and color.”

The focus groups have also revealed that “the Southpole Juniors customer is cost-conscious and knows she can shop our line for aspirational items at a moderate price,” Strumeier said. And that’s good news because the company’s “goal has always been the same for all our lines – deliver quality and value at a price.”

While consumers always appreciate quality at an

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affordable price, “value is even more important in this economy,” said Monique Serena, the company’s vice president of sales. “It’s not enough today to give the consumer a $14 item for $14. We need to give her a $25

item for $14 and that’s what we’re committed to doing.”

The company’s extensive research provides insights beyond preferences in style, fit and price. “We study her lifestyle, family and friends,” said Gail Vasquez, vice president of licensing, “where she’s going, what she’s doing, and what she considers value with style. Our junior customer wants a contemporary look at a fast-fashion price. She wants that extra something that makes her stand out and be noticed and our brand gives it to her. For example, Southpole Juniors footwear offers a hot slouch boot with gold embroidery and shearling around the edge that mimics the brand’s outerwear.”

The brand is working with Colors in Optics, known for their fashion eyewear, to launch a line of oversized sunglasses for Spring ’09 with embellishments, color, and logo treatments retailing for $26.

In small leather goods, Southpole Juniors has just launched belts, wallets and new oversized handbags with embellished detailing – “design elements that are important to our consumer,” said Vasquez.

As vital as it is to listen to the consumer, Strumeier and his team know that it’s equally critical to talk to her so that the brand is still top-of-mind once she has more money

to spend. That’s why Southpole Juniors is working with retailers to create a direct mail piece, holding its firstever model search, hosting in-store events and remains committed to both print media and viral marketing.

“JUST WHAT THE FLOOR NEEDS”

While must-have accessories clearly maintain and build on the consumer’s attachment to the brand, apparel remains the core line and there’s plenty happening here as well. One reason for the brand’s success is that Southpole Juniors is constantly evolving based on market trends. “Our consumer demands great looks, intrinsic value and affordable prices,” said Serena. “We’ve introduced new looks for Fall 2009 and the reaction from our retail partners has been very positive. They’re embracing the newness, color depth, balance of fashion and basics that are falling into the value prices they need to attract the consumer. The buyers have told me ‘it’s just what the floor needs.’” Serena describes the New Street Vibe looks as “fun and colorful” while the Collegiate looks “take on a unconventional preppy feeling.”

Serena also reports that Southpole Juniors’ “core denim penetration is increasing. We launched a new fit program for Fall 2008 and, based on its success, we’re expanding the program and maintaining two strong value price points.

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“We’re a national brand and represent a strong mid-tier

Southpole. Strong vivid

collection,” said Serena. “We will continue to react to market

graphics, premium looks

challenges and create new strategies to find the right balance of key items and fashion with each of our retail partners.”

in denim and styles with a young contemporary flair

Identifying the change consumers want is at the heart of Wicked’s strategy for growth. According to David Strumeier, “our design and merchandise teams constantly scour the marketplace – at the mid-tier, which is our stronghold, but also at the mass and upper-mezzanine tiers. It is critical for us to continuously drive innovation and satisfy the growing demand of our consumers for trendy, high-quality fashion at affordable prices.”

One clear example, said Strumeier, is the way Wicked has taken the Southpole brand “from a pure inner-city brand and transformed it into a multicultural, diverse brand for today’s multicultural, diverse consumer.

“Ten to 15 years ago, urban fashion was defined as hardcore, inner-city and predominantly AfricanAmerican, but – at Southpole – urban has evolved into suburban, meaning the diversification of our brand reflects the fact that our consumers today are a wonderful blend of African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian consumers.”

WHITE HOT! Introducing WhiteTag for Juniors

WhiteTag Juniors is launching for Back to School 2009.

“We believe this is the time to give the consumer and the retail floor something new and fresh,” said Monique Serena. “The line is completely different than

make this new collection a great opportunity for our retailers. The prices will be a notch up from Southpole and we’re maintaining our business model and giving great details and quality at affordable prices. During this challenging economy, it’s refreshing to be able to introduce this new and exciting project. We believe this too will become a huge success in our

WHITETAG JUNIO

portfolio of brands.”

RS

LOOKING AHEAD

Another new line – A. Prodigee – strays a bit farther from Southpole’s roots. Launching in time for Holiday ’08 in young men’s and planned for Holiday ’09 in juniors, A. Prodigee takes Southpole’s “streetwear foundation and crosses it with an Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister look,” said Strumeier.

Southpole is also expanding its brand and preparing to launch newborn, infant and toddler apparel. The goal, according to Gail Vasquez, is “to grow with our customer as her family grows. Of course, we’ll also be cultivating a new wave of brand loyalty.”

Denim That Fits to a

T

Without question, one of the strongest elements in the Southpole Juniors line is its denim offering. “We have a stronghold on denim in the mid-tier,” said David Strumeier. “We’re the third largest denim supplier in the U.S. behind Levi’s and Lee and that’s because we’re powerful in the development and execution of denim and in keeping up with trends in fashion denim.”

But that’s not enough for Southpole. Because the brand stays so close to its consumer it knows the difficulty

David Strumeier agrees and adds “this year has been both a challenging and rewarding year for our company and we are cautiously optimistic about 2009 knowing that it will be a true test of our comprehensive retail understanding.”

Strumeier is confident all of Wicked’s brands are up to the challenge. “We have a CEO who believes in working tirelessly to find and take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace and we have a staff of 400 people from all over the world that truly reflects the diversity of our consumers. As a team, we have great spirit, we love what we do and I’ve always thought that if you have that going for you then the sky’s the limit.”

star quality

Southpole aims to “attach ourselves to people who believe the American Dream is absolutely achievable,” said David Strumeier. The brand will continue to use former “America’s Next Top Model” winner Jaslene Gonzalez and signed actress K.D. Aubert to represent Southpole Juniors in print and at in-store events.

“They are beautiful, talented and articulate, said Strumeier. “Our consumer identifies with them.”

many girls and young women have finding jeans that make them look and feel the way they want – in other words, attractive and comfortable.

“We’ve identified the variety of shapes and sizes of the Southpole Juniors consumer and given her the denim fit she needs to look great,” said Strumeier. “By creating our own Denim Fit Guide, we have become a one-stop denim shop that provides great fits and functional styles that consistently meet the diverse needs of our consumers.”

Promotional efforts include point-of-sale signs at all the mid-tier stores Southpole Juniors sells to as well as hangtags.

K.D. AUB

ERT

JASLENE

Pioneering Innovative Concepts in Apparel

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features 16 They Are Wearing: International street style.

38 MTV Arabia gives voice to a new generation of Middle Eastern youth.

who 18 Rising Stars: The latest crop of young celebrities.

20 Meet the Kooples, Europe’s retail power couple.

what 22 Four stores exploring the gray area between retail and entertainment.

24 A South African activewear line brings yoga to work.

26 The latest global must-haves.

where 28 A trio of suddenly chic urban shopping destinations.

how 30 Battering denim into the latest destroyed washes is more art than craft.

32 A renegade surfing competition learns about brand building.

why 34 Sportswear companies’ latest offerings are two-wheeled.

35 In Prague, fashion colleges are filled with potential stars.

36 Berlin’s nightlife gets all dressed up.

fashion 42 Acid-bright accents stand out against cool neutrals.

52 Picks and finds for two top trends.

56 Fashion resources.

58 P.S.: Statement-making jewelry.

ON THE COVER: Transit Par-Such polyamide and cotton jacket; Pudel scarf (gray); Hooch scarf (navy); Victoria Simes for Zero + Maria Cornejo necklace.

THIS PAGE AND COVER: Photographed by Emir Eralp; Model: Ludmilla/Supreme; Styled by Kim Friday.

Statistics illustrations throughout by Tyler Resty.

A Diesel cotton shirt and tank.

WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2009 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. January 15, 2009, VOLUME 197, NO. 9. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in January, May, October, November and December, two additional issues in April, June, and August, three additional issues in March and September, and four 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 Publications: 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.

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THEY ARE WEARING®

BUENOS AIRES

Cheery colors and pop prints grace tights, bags and toppers…

TOKYO PHOTOS BY YUKIE KASUGA; PARIS BY DOMINIQUE MAITRE; MILAN BY SAKIS LALAS

TOKYO

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PARIS

…while plaid scarves and fingerless gloves show up on punks and preps alike.

MILAN

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WHO

RISING STARS UNITED STATESS

Names to know to stay in the know.

Corbin Bleu Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve heard of the High School Musical franchise and its posse of teen stars, including 19-year-old Brooklyn native Corbin Bleu (he turns 20 on February 21), who plays Chad Danforth, best buddy to Zac Efron’s character, Troy Bolton. He’s also acted with Kristen Stewart (in his film debut, Catch That Kid), Kurt Russell, Sigourney Weaver and Ben Stiller. This year, Bleu is ready to take the spotlight as the star (and one of the producers) of Free Style, which hits theaters in January. He plays Cale, an aspiring motocross champ.

But Bleu, who started working in commercials at age two and attended the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, is a multitasker: He has modeled, acted off-Broadway and is set to release his second album for Hollywood Records in March, an R&B-popelectronic hybrid titled Speed of Light, for which he wrote several songs.

“For me, when it comes to balancing, if you are involved in music and you hit a dry spell, you can try your hand at film or TV and vice versa. I believe that all of the arts interconnect. I can’t choose,” he says. However, when it comes to fashion, Bleu has definite favorites: “I love D&G right now, and sneakers by Nike.” —Marcy Medina

Léa Seydoux Léa Seydoux dreamed of becoming an opera singer when she was a little girl. But at age 19, her life took another turn when she won the lead role in Mes Copines (My Girlfriends), a teen comedy. It seems she followed the right path. Now 23, she has starred in five movies, including Catherine Breillat’s Une vieille maîtresse (The Last Mistress) and Christophe Honoré’s La belle Personne (A Nice Person), and she’ll be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards, due to be released in June.

“When you’re 19, you think, I’d like to play with great directors. But never in a million years could you imagine you’ll play in a Tarantino movie,” says the actress, dressed in jeans and a turtleneck topped with a vintage Yves Saint Laurent jacket.

Meanwhile, doors keep opening up in front of her blue eyes. Ridley Scott chose her for a part in Nottingham, a movie he’ll start shooting this year, and she’ll be playing opposite Sylvie Testud in an Austrian film by Jessica Hausner called Lourdes, scheduled to come out this year.

When she has free time, Seydoux won’t be seen in designer boutiques. “I love vintage clothes, and there are plenty of vintage stores in my neighborhood,” she says of Paris’ groovy 3rd arrondissement. Seydoux, a voracious reader, also hopes to publish a book someday. —Chantal Goupil

68 PERCENT OF SINGLE JAPANESE WOMEN AGES 20 TO 34 LIVE WITH THEIR PARENTS. (SOURCE: CLSA)

CILMI PHOTO BY WARNER MUSIC AUSTRALIA; FERRERI BY GERINI 2008; SEYDOUX BY FRANCOIS GOIZE; BLEU BY ERNESTO RUSCIO/FILMMAGIC

AUSTRALIA

ITALY

FRANCE

Gabriella Cilmi Seventeen-year-old songwriting soul singer Gabriella Cilmi is an Australian teen sensation like no other. Cilmi cleaned up at October’s Australian Recording Industry Association awards, winning six awards, including Best Female Artist, Best Pop Release, Single of the Year and Highest Selling Single, for her certified double-platinum single “Sweet About Me.” Released in March and number one on the ARIA singles chart for five consecutive weeks in Australia—making Cilmi the youngest solo artist ever to top the chart—“Sweet About Me” has entered the top 10 in more than 10 countries, selling 200,000 copies in the U.K. alone.

Discovered by the head of Warner Music Australia in 2005 at the age of 13 while belting out a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash” at an Italian street festival in Melbourne, Cilmi was signed to Island Records later that year and spent the next three years shuttling between Melbourne and London, recording her debut album, Lessons to Be Learned. Already platinum in Australia, the album is due for a U.S. release early this year.

—Patty Huntington

Giusy Ferreri Giusy Ferreri, who became an overnight success as runner-up in the Italian reality show X-factor because of her Mediterranean looks and raspy voice à la Amy Winehouse, is making all the right moves to achieve musical stardom.

Her first single, “Non Ti Scordar Mai di Me” (“Never Forget About Me”), held the number-one spot in Italy for more than three months—beating out the likes of Madonna and Coldplay—and it is likely that her multifaceted first full album, Gaetana, will continue to win over fans.

The album includes two tracks written by hit songwriter Linda Perry, formerly of the 4 Non Blondes, someone who Ferreri cites as being “a huge influence. I’m really hoping to get to work with her side by side.”

Inspired by designers like Roberto Cavalli, the 29-yearold Ferreri describes her style as versatile, favoring outfits that bring together different aspects of her personality: aggressive but elegant, sober yet energetic and full of color.

She will be performing live in smaller venues this winter in preparation for a full stadium tour in the fall. —Rachel Mascetta

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WHO

TWO OF A KIND Meet The Kooples, a brand-new idea in retail therapy.

When images of hip, young couples with the tag line “The Kooples. Nicolas and Honorine, a couple for eight months,” began appearing across Paris, even those fashionistas usually in the know were kept guessing.

“They didn’t know if it was an online dating site, a fashion label or a band,” says Alexandre Elicha, 33, who cofounded The Kooples with his brothers, Laurent, 32, and Raphaël, 22.

As distinct black-and-white stores selling preppy looks with a rock ‘n’ roll twist began springing up across the country, French consumers got their answer.

Thanks to their contemporary fashion genes—the siblings’ parents, Tony and Georgette Elicha, created the French fashion chain Comptoir des Cotonniers in 1995—The Kooples isn’t your average fashion start-up. After opening 20 stores in three months, the brothers are planning 150 within the next five years.

Where Comptoir features real-life mothers and daughters in its ads, The Kooples is building its image through unknown couples, found through Facebook, MySpace or in the streets.

They’re chosen for their creative jobs plus edgy looks to embody the unisex label’s rock ’n’ roll meets Savile Row identity.

Originally conceived as a men’s collection, the brothers decided a women’s line would enable them to cater to the many couples who shop together, and The Kooples, a pun on how many French speakers pronounce “couple” in English, was born.

In each 600- to 700-square-foot boutique, black flooring contrasts with white walls under harsh strip lighting.

Men’s items, from military-style wool coats designed in collaboration with the Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons, A hip couple from the campaign. line one side, while on the other, women take their picks of basics such as cardigans, jeans and the trenchcoat, which has three-quarter-length sleeves and a narrower fit so it doesn’t drown its wearer when it’s open.

A central counter features earrings, rings, double necklaces and bracelets, created with London jewelers The Great Frog, which, in keeping with the couples theme, includes twin rings to be exchanged.

The skull, adopted as The Kooples’ signature motif, appears on everything from T-shirts, which start at 45 euros, or $63 at current exchange, to gold and silver-colored buttons on coats, which sell for 340 euros, or $474.

Bestsellers since stores opened in September include an Audrey Hepburn–inspired navy stretch flannel dress featuring stiff, white shirt cuffs, plus khaki-colored ball-shaped skirts and lace tops. Men’s cardigans have proved a hit with the brand’s female clientele.

“In these times of crisis, you have to really stand out,” says Alexandre, who claims that the brand’s difference lies in its tailoring and its unisex approach. “There aren’t many brands doing both men’s and women’s,” he says. “It’s going to happen. Men’s wear is developing more and more, and women’s brands are introducing men’s lines, but for now there are very few.”

International expansion, likely to start in the U.K., followed by the U.S. and Japan, is intended within two seasons.

Online sales started late last year on thekooples.com, where shoppers also can read interviews with The Kooples faces, by Olivier Nicklaus of French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles, where they discuss everything from their first kisses to their pet hates. Music types also can check the latest gigs happening across France, courtesy of Olivier Tesquet of lifestyle magazine Technikart.

Keeping the rock ’n’ roll theme, rock, pop and electro tracks play simultaneously in each of The Kooples’ brick-and-mortar stores, where couples are even allowed to share a changing room.

—Ellen Groves

Nicolas and Honorine, a real-life Koople.

THE REAL DEAL Nicolas Ratieville, 30, and Honorine Crosnier, 29, both TV producers, embody The Kooples’ 25- to 35-year-old bobo (BOurgeoisBOhemian) target audience, though Crosnier admits she’s usually less sophisticated and less scary looking. “We were acting like typical standoffish Parisians,” she says.

“No one recognized me in the photo—I don’t style my hair that way and I don’t usually wear makeup.”

Ratieville, meanwhile, gave up his everyday staple of baggy jeans for a skinny pair.

While the duo says they found The Kooples’ rock approach and skull motif far from avant-garde, they lauded the clothes as “really well cut.”

They always shop together at stores such as H&M and APC. “We like to get it over with quickly,” says Crosnier. “So it’s yes to that, no to that, yes, no, let’s go.”

Time is short for the two, who are producing a TV series called Mylène et Son Garçon (Mylene and Her Boy), set to air on the French cable channel Canal+ in February.

“It’s a comedy about a really trash couple and it’s going to be the next big thing,” declares Ratieville.

As well as writing the script, the couple produces, directs and acts in the 32-part show. Quips Crosnier: “We do everything together.” —E.G.

Hey! What are you up to?

Just at work...

Don’t forget tomorrow!

Can’t wait for tom!!!!

23 PERCENT OF 18- TO 24-YEAR-OLDS SURVEYED AROUND THE WORLD HAVE ADDED BRAND-RELATED CONTENT TO THEIR INSTANT MESSENGER SERVICES. (SOURCE: SYNOVATE)

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AMERICA’S COTTON PRODUCERS AND IMPORTERS. ®The Seal of Cotton is a Registered Service Mark/Trademark of Cotton Incorporated. ©Cotton Incorporated, 2008.

WHAT

COUNTER INTUITIVE SUB, SAO PAULO SUB, short for Selection of Unbelievable Beachwear, is São Paulo’s first multibrand swimwear store, located in the Shopping Cidade Jardim, the largest multibrand luxury center in South America. It opened in May. What’s visually striking about the 753-square-foot, cube-shaped SUB is that it’s the only one of the SCJ’s 120 boutiques with no glass storefront, allowing shoppers to stroll in off the mall’s central open-air walkway.

What’s conceptually striking is its convenience. “Because most beachwear brands here have their own freestanding stores or boutiques in malls, SUB brings together many of those brands under one roof, thus providing young women who buy bikinis with one-stop shopping,” says owner Karla Sarquis.

“This convenience is important because, as bikini brands change fits and styles every season, the average bikini shopper, unlike the average jeans buyer, is not brand faithful. She is after the bikini with style and fit that best suits her body. And that can mean trying on many brands.”

Labels available at SUB include Rosa Chá, Brazil’s most well-known beachwear brand, which shows at 7th on Sixth in New York, as well as Agua de Coco and Adriana Degreas, both of which show at São Paulo Fashion Week. SUB also has suits and after-beach apparel from smaller domestic labels such as Vix, Fernanda Niemeyer, Loér, Dibikini, Triya and Jo de Mer. Bikinis and one-piece suits run from $90 to $215.

The back wall’s floor-to-ceiling mirror is framed by wide strips of brass patchwork paneling, copper-colored mannequins and a rustic floor made from coconut-shell fiber.

Women who don’t like trying on bikinis in the store can ask SUB to deliver a selection of suits to try on at home. SUB expected to ring up 1.5 million reals, or $930,000 at current exchange, during its first six months—from last June to December. —Mike Kepp SUB

VOLKSBAR, BERLIN Shops with a cafe in the corner are nothing new. But it’s not often you come across a space that is a clothes store, cafe, bar and nightclub rolled into one. Acting occasionally as a gallery, too, with the odd art exhibition now and then, Volksbar in Berlin leaves little to be desired.

Spread over two floors and 4,300 square feet, the venue opened in October and sells progressive upperend streetwear for women and men by day, focusing on the more one-off or special edition designs of brands such as Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Nike and Carhartt. But as soon as night falls, the shoes and T-shirts are tidied away, the cash desk becomes a DJ booth and the glitter ball starts to turn.

Located on Schönhauser Allee, near Rosa-Luxembourg-Platz in the hip district of Mitte, Volksbar is within walking distance of the streetwear labels concentrated around Hackescher Markt, making it an attraction to tourists. And, Volksbar with the ultrahip hangout White Trash next door, and the raucous 8mm bar across the road, the area has enough street cred to pull in the cool crowd.

The building was originally a bank, with the 19th-century vault now being used as an underground dance floor. More recently, the space also has served as both a gallery and a tattoo parlor. With walls covered in street art or raw brick and vintage Sixties and Seventies furniture, the decor manages to keep the remnants of these previous incarnations.

To attract more weekday punters, Volksbar soon will start hosting special culture events, such as art exhibitions. “Berliners are always looking for something new, continually want to learn something and want more content in their social life,” explains the venue’s manager, Max Weber, who believes so-called mix concepts work particularly well in Berlin. “People in this city like it if they’re not quite sure what a place is supposed to be. They walk past here and they see shoes in the window, but it also looks like a bar, so it makes them curious.”

With an abundance of commercial space and cheap rents, new bars and stores are constantly popping up all over Berlin, so the competition to come up with the next best creative idea is fierce. This means that—at least for the time being—innovation might be this city’s most precious commodity.

—Damien McGuinness

SUB PHOTO BY MIKE KEPP; VOLKSBAR BY MATTI HILLIG

Retailers who inhabit the gray area between shopping and playing are blurring the lines between customers and fans.

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FORNARINA, MILAN TECKTONIK, PARIS With an aggressive retail strategy, a new concept store With the frenetic boom emitting from its sound system and hordes of and an international celebrity—Lindsay Lohan—to help twitching teenagers spilling out onto the pavement outside, one could boost its visibility, Fornarina steadily is growing into a easily mistake the world’s first Tecktonik store for a nightclub—or an comprehensive apparel and footwear brand with global audition for a 21st-century Fame sequel. clout. In February, the Italian label will launch its Lindsay Situated on Rue Turbigo in the popular Les Halles district in bag, a clutch in metallic leather, in silver or electric blue, Paris, the opening marks the first retail site for the Parisdedicated to the young star. made dance craze that was invented—and branded—by Cyril “Lindsay embodies our soul and spirit—independent, Blanc and Alexandre Barouzdin in 2000. brilliant, young and irreverent, with a rock-diva edge,” says With a brushed-metal interior, exposed metal beams, Lino Fornari, founder and chairman of Fornari SpA, which mini motorbikes and piled-up shopping trolleys filled manufactures the line. with merch, the store boasts racks of Tecktonik clothes, a The ad campaign featuring Lohan, shot by hairdressing salon, flashing TV screens and a DJ booth.

Musati+Aimone at the Stahl House in Los Angeles, It’s set to be exported across the globe over the next couple of will break in the spring. The fashion pairing was first years, with openings planned for Los Angeles, Tokyo, Berlin and Casablanca. revealed in Paris in May at the Fornarina Urban Beauty In France, where around 12 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds are Show—the company’s staple event that blends fashion, considered Tecktonik followers, the phenomenon caught fire via videoart and music. sharing sites such as Dailymotion and YouTube.

The connection with Lohan is also in line with one of The European craze borrows from a hodgepodge of dance Fornari’s top priorities now: to grow Fornarina’s business influences, such as voguing and break-dancing. “Before, if you in the U.S. This market accounts for 5 percent of sales, wanted to hear a particular kind of music from Belgium, Holland which, in 2007, reached 170 million euros, or $232.9 million and Germany, you had to go to specific venues. Here, the idea at the average exchange rate for the period. is that, in one night, you can hear house, electro, jumpstyle [a The brand’s Los Angeles boutique is being remodeled dance style that originated in Belgium in the Nineties]. There’s after the new concept stores that were unveiled in no separation,” says Barouzdin. “We’ve just created Tecktonik Palermo, Italy, and Westfield, London, in mid-October. The Brazil and Japan and are developing Tecktonik Moscow.” new retail design comprises four different and distinct He insists that a desire to party, as opposed to moneyA look from areas: the Rock Out Wall, the Denim Bar, the Powder Room making schemes, drives the mission. A stint working in sales Fornarina and the Total Look Area. The Rock Out Wall is inspired at Merrill Lynch inspired him to spin a business angle on the with the by music clubs, with black furniture, a vivid red backdrop, project, he explains, adding that things really took off two Lindsay bag. a wall of speakers and stagelike lighting; the Denim Bar years ago when he and Blanc hooked up with the music label is dedicated to Fornarina’s five-pocket jeans with a bar EMI. Since then, clothing co-branding deals have started to atmosphere and Champagne bottles displayed as accessories; the Art Deco roll in, including those with Reebok and Swatch. glass, silver and gold Powder Room showcases shoes, bags, jewelry and But the founders’ aim, Barouzdin stresses, is to focus on emerging talent, eyewear, and the Total Look Area takes center stage to deliver the brand’s commissioning Tecktonik pieces from up-and-comers such as Japan’s Dog, style and mood.

France’s Romain Kremer and Berlin’s Paul Snowden. And the right look Fornari’s retail focus will translate into the opening of 30 stores this year. counts just as much as striking the right move.

There are 29 Fornarina stores in Italy and 96 outside the country. Fornari “Just like the arrival of hip-hop, which brought with it a set of sartorial spearheaded the firm’s expansion around the world and was one of the first codes, Tecktonik is an ensemble. It’s equally about the hair, the moves, the Italian entrepreneurs to enter the Chinese market, personally moving to clothes,” he says, adding that Tecktonik’s neo-mohawk coifs, ultraslim jackets China in 1984. His business in China now totals 70 stores and represents 10 and neon colors were originally inspired by the punk era. percent of Fornarina’s sales.

A recent video clip featuring Tecktonik dancers by the French pop star Yelle, Fornarina, founded in 1947 in Italy’s central Marche region by Fornari’s who was outfitted by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, further sparked the craze grandfather as a footwear manufacturer, over the years has expanded its for all things DayGlo, Barouzdin says. product offering, becoming a lifestyle brand known for bright prints, T-shirts “It’s cool to be able to stand apart from the crowd. People here tend to with quirky vignettes and edgy jeans. The denim division accounts for about stick to classic clothes,” says Jimmy Medina, a 19-year-old dancer who goes a third of the company’s revenues. Fornarina increasingly has associated by the name of Milliard (or Billion, in English). Sucking on a lollipop at a recent its name with the entertainment, music and film industries, and turned to DJ event held in the store, Medina paired a bright blue-and-yellow Adidas artists for inspiration and limited edition collections. Case in point: For spring tracksuit with a white knitted ski cap that he picked up in “a girl’s shop.”

2009, Fornarina collaborated with six artists, including Japanese artist Junko “My favorite outfit to dance in is a pair of skinny Levi’s, my Reeboks and Mizuno and Dutch tattooist Angelique Houtkamp. a graphic Cassette Playa sweatshirt,” says France’s leading Tecktonik dancer, “People make the Treaxy, 19, who sports a square-top difference. People are the haircut. The teenager has been following Treaxy, center left, and Milliard, strength of a company,” says the craze since he was 10 years old. “I center right, flanked by friends at the Tecktonik store.

Fornari. “[My company is] kind of have my own personal style—I’m a tight-knit group who has at dance school, so I’m influenced by worked together for many classic, jazz and contemporary styles,” years—much like a sports he notes, adding that the burgeoning team—with the occasional Tecktonik craze has led him to travel all addition of fresh, new talent.” around the globe. “It’s definitely changed —Luisa Zargani my world.” —Katya Foreman

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WHAT

YOGA BEARER South African brand Shakti Shanti brings the practice of yoga to the business of activewear.

A look from Shakti Shanti.

Peace, love and harmony have always been associated with the practice of yoga, but rarely have they been translated into a full-scale activewear business venture, and a successful one at that.

Maria Taylor, the force behind Shakti Shanti Yoga Wear, hit upon the idea of creating her own line of yogawear upon her return to South Africa in 2002 after training as a yoga teacher overseas.

“I went out in search of clothing in which I could maintain comfort, support, my modesty and feel and look good whilst in my moving yoga meditation,” she says. Unable to find what she wanted, she started her own line, bearing in mind that dynamic yoga had many requirements that other activewear could not always meet. She also wanted her yogawear to work for other sports.

Taylor wasn’t satisfied with a line that simply performed. “Being dedicated to and passionate about yoga,” she says, “I wanted to uphold every yogic principle in my business and in my life.”

“I wanted this range to ooze yoga, so that when I, or other women, put on a Shakti Shanti garment, we would feel so good about ourselves, so comfortable, so supportive, so loved that we would be able to access our peaceful energy without restraints and restrictions.”

The name Shakti Shanti was an important choice: It means ‘powerful

peace’ in Sanskrit. “It represents the complete love and respect for our unique union of body, mind and breath at this moment, the only moment in the world that matters,” Taylor says.

Made in South Africa from the highest quality partly organic cotton spandex and viscose, each design is inspired by and named after a specific yoga pose.

The line is produced under strict adherence to the yoga principles of ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha. In plain English, these simply mean conducting business in an ethical manner, with respect, honesty and integrity in all transactions and communications.

It might sound lofty and idealistic, but for Taylor and her Shakti Shanti line, being true to yoga has paid off. Even without an active marketing department, Taylor says, “the market found me.” Today, Shakti Shanti is available at select yoga studios in Japan, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and the U.S., as well as Taylor’s native South Africa, where it is sold in the Young Designers Emporium chain of stores.

Shakti Shanti seems poised to weather the current financial storm.

“It has not bothered my business at all,” she says. “On the contrary: We are consistently growing. I believe it is due to the quality of the product and the pure energetic intention behind it.” —Bambina Wise

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WHAT

GOTTA GET IT

Noteworthy items from around the world. ▼ Milan Model-turned-designer Alessio Consorte, 28, created a line of sweatshirts with the perfect alcove for MP3 players ($120). Pibe de Oro styles are available in black and white, but blue, green and red are on tap. —Vanessa Silva

▼ Berlin Cool girls who want to stay warm in the depths of the Berlin winter are opting for capes. The toppers are being thrown over leather jackets for an extra layer, as illustrated by this soft tweed $20 flea market bargain.

—Damien McGuinness

▲ Paris Charlie Joe’s T-shirt dress in metallic sequins ($376) is versatile enough for both disco girls and hippie chicks, which explains why it’s all the rage at beaches and nightclubs alike.

—Laurent Folcher

▲ New York This pinup-worthy bra and panty set from Fiorucci ($23 and $14, respectively) is flirty enough to get even the most die-hard New Yorker to trade in her basic black for something more playful. —Kim Friday

▼ São Paulo Local chain DocDog’s Cropped Aladdin jeans ($235) are baggy, pleated and stop just above the ankle. They’re the perfect fit for Brazil’s current loose-cut denim trend.

—Mike Kepp

PARIS PHOTO BY DOMINIQUE MAITRE; BERLIN BY MATTI HILLIG

Los Angeles Miss Manners is a stickler for the “ladies first” courtesy. Lest others forget, Stüssy and Hellz Bellz stitched the social rule in hot pink threading on the back of an Eightiesstyle bomber for their new streetwear collaboration. The jacket sells for $69, attitude not included.

—Khanh T.L. Tran

▲ Sydney Hannah Chipkin has cornered the thinkinggirl’s tote market with her witty slogan shoppers.

Her summer range includes this cotton canvas Isn’t It Iconic? tote ($59). —Patty Huntington

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WHERE

SHOPPING BLOCKS These under-the-radar neighborhoods are quickly becoming go-to destinations for savvy urban shoppers.

Estelle Ramousse

The 20th arrondissement in Paris is famous for the Père-Lachaise cemetery, the last resting place for some of the most famous names in literature, art, philosophy and music, from Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde to Maria Callas and Jim Morrison.

But a stone’s throw from this leafy haven of tranquility hums one of the most alive and vibrant areas of Paris.

In the Quartier Saint Blaise, there stand the remains of the 13th-century parish church, sentinel over what has become an area reflecting the diversity of people, architecture and the arts in this cosmopolitan city.

Located in the north of Paris, the hilly area stretches from Belleville to Ménilmontant, bordering the 18th arrondissement (Montmartre) and the 19th, known for its sprawling park, the Buttes Chaumont. However, unlike Montmartre, there is no tripping over hordes of tourists to go to one of the neighborhood’s eclectic mix of bars or restaurants, or to take in one of the many concerts, thanks to a vibrant music scene and a concentration of great venues.

The artiness and youth of the area have been reunited in the recent opening of a cultural center called 104 (104 Rue d’Aubervilliers/5 Rue Curial), a renovated warehouse building that provides accommodation for 200 artists. From art fairs, exhibitions and fashion shows (Martin Margiela and Alexander McQueen were among the first), the 104 offers a unique cultural experience. Once considered to be an annex of Paris that welcomed an immigrant population, and a safe haven during the revolution, the 20th today has a distinct allure with its cobbled streets and an abundance of verdure.

There are a number of charming restaurants that offer unpretentious meals at reasonable prices. A perfect example is Les 3 Chapeaux at 48 Rue des Cascades, a Moroccan eatery where couscous and tagine are on the menu and the entertainment is a jaunty mix of Arabic and French music. La Bellevilloise (19-21 Rue Boyer) and La Maroquinerie (23 Rue Boyer) are as popular with the locals as well as those from further afield. Sandwiched next to each other, La Maroquinerie has a constant flow of well-known acts such as The Rascals and Merlot. If hunger hits, pop next

door and dine at La Bellevilloise, which on Saturdays has an organic menu to accompany the yoga class that takes place. Sunday brunch is also a must, and features a traditional French menu. A visit to the Cafe Animé La Mer à Boire (1/3 Rue des Envierges) is an enriching experience where customers can enjoy the ever-changing exhibition of illustrators’ works that hang on the walls. Recent exhibitions include the sartorial cartoons from the French paper Charlie Hebdo, and in January a collective exhibition of illustrators is scheduled, entitled “Bye Bye Bush!” Or marvel at the incomparable and spectacular view of the rooftops of Paris from the terrace, which overlooks the Parc de Belleville from which, if lucky, you may be treated to a stunning sunset.

For the fashion-forward there are boutiques and artisanal designers aplenty. Milliner Estelle Ramousse (67 Rue de la Mare) works from her atelier, making hats for the theaters and opera houses in France as well as for individual clients.

A little further down the winding road, on the sloping Rue de Menilmontant, is the new boutique Vintage 77 by Dje (77 Rue de Menilmontant), which mixes designer labels such as Chanel and Courrèges with dresses from the Thirties and pieces by little-known French and Italian brands. Designer Stephanie Coudert (25-27 Rue des Envierges) also has set up her atelier in the heart of this district.

And hidden away at 32 Rue de la Mare is a cobbler’s workshop called Les Chaussures Germaines, where Madonna is said to have shoes custom made.

A short distance away is the recently opened Philippe Starck hotel, Mama Shelter (109 Rue de Bagnolet). Formerly a parking garage, it has been transformed into a luxurious but affordable inn boasting various eateries and terraces, where those who still smoke can enjoy their drinks and cigarettes sheltered from the elements. The contemporary design of the hotel is very open and airy, and a monument to modern living.

More affordable still is Ermitage (42 bis Rue de l’Ermitage). Although only a one-star hotel, it boasts a spectacular view of the major sites of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Sacré Cœur—something that not even a deluxe hotel will give you. And breakfast is a snip at a mere 5 euros.

—Natasha Montrose

ESTELLE RAMOUSSE PHOTO BY DOMINIQUE MAITRE; MANGART BY YUKIE KASUGA

PARIS’ 20TH ARRONDISSEMENT

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Mangart

TOKYO’S DAIKANYAMA Just one subway stop away from Shibuya’s high-rise department stores and neon-lit landscapes, Daikanyama offers visitors a quieter, more laidback side of Tokyo. This hilly neighborhood has a vaguely European feel to it and it’s brimming with a unique mix of stores and cafes.

Loveless (20-23 Daikanyama) is one of Tokyo’s hottest multibrand stores, and its flagship in Aoyama attracts scores of shoppers passing through the city, from fashion-conscious tourists to style-savvy celebs such as Lindsay Lohan. A few months ago, the famed retailer opened its second outpost in Daikanyama. This smaller store stocks a broad assortment of its private label apparel and accessories as well as pieces from brands like Tequila Soda, Alice + Olivia, Carlos Miele and Amsterdam-based label Pauw.

The same shopping center houses the newly opened WR (20-23 Daikanyama), a store focusing on stylish items for young working women, such as knit dresses and leather capelet jackets. Yui Tsukida, who worked at Maria Luisa in Paris for six years, oversees the creative direction of the store.

Né-Net (20-23 Daikanyama) is just around the corner. This label, designed

by Kazuaki Takashima, is always a highlight of Japan Fashion Week. It’s known for its quirky streetwise designs, which include coats with glove-shaped pockets and sweatshirts with bunny ears coming out of the hoods.

Just down the street, nakEd bunch (19-11 Daikanyama) offers up more relaxed notions of Tokyo style with fresh takes on sportswear, including flared fleece parkas and leggings with images of deer stenciled on them. The line’s designer is illustrator Ed Tsuwaki, who has worked for Italian Vogue.

Shoppers also should swing by CA4LA (17-5 Daikanyama), pronounced “kashira,” which means head in Japanese, to check out a vast range of hats, from a knitted cap with furry trimmings to a wide-brimmed derby hat.

T-shirt fanatics should head to specialty retailer Beams’ recently opened concept store Mangart (19-6 Sarugaku). Just like its flagship in Harajuku, this shop features a conveyor of hanging T-shirts; however, all the ones sold here bear the designs of a manga or comic book artist. —Amanda Kaiser

uses as fixtures and fittings, from Victorian wooden writing desks to Fifties Italian lamps, is also for sale. “[Notting Hill] had changed so much that anyone creative was either priced out or fed up with small dogs and huge sunglasses,” says Merchant, referring to the area’s chi-chi residents.

Merchant says she prefers the eclectic mix that her store on Kilburn Lane—sandwiched between a launderette, post office and cafes—attracts.

“One minute a black cab pulls up and it’s someone from a fashion house or a celebrity looking for something to wear, and then there’s the lady from [a local housing project] who pays 20 quid [or $29 at current exchange] a week off a Thirties gown she’s fallen in love with.”

Andrew Ibi, a fashion designer turned self-styled “shopkeeper,” opened his clothing boutique, The Convenience Store (1a Hazelwood Tower), in a former shoe-repair store in nearby Golborne Gardens, with similar intentions of embracing the neighborhood. “It was isolated, tucked away and local, but it had a community spirit,” says Ibi, sitting in front of one of the store’s huge windows, which looks out onto the Trellick Tower, a monolithic housing project designed by Ernö Goldfinger in the Sixties. The 450-square-foot store is also across the road from Rellik, the famed London vintage shop where Kate Moss bought her Vivienne Westwood pirate boots. Ibi’s store carries a small selection of pieces by designers including Rick Owens, Veronique Branquinho, Ann-Sofie Back and Clare Tough, displayed on spare wire racks against the store’s smooth gray concretelike walls. Ibi says he aims to let his customers know the story behind each of the designers rather than merchandising the store by trends. “I wanted to create a whole world for [the clothes] to sit in. It’s a mini fight back against the trend to shop in department stores, where the selection isn’t that interesting,” Ibi says, adding that the shop’s location means that there aren’t the same rental pressures as there would be in a central London store, so he can “support new designers.”

Sasha Bezovski, one of the owners of Kokon To Zai, a designer boutique with stores in Soho and Paris, says the company fell in love with “the eclectic vibe and faded grandeur” of its latest store at 84 Golborne Road, which carries its own label collection along with brands including Vivienne Westwood, Bernhard Willhelm and Raf Simons. Bezovski calls the area “a very nurturing spot when it comes to selling boutique brands that are oneoff…and offering the customer something different.” The store is housed in a former butcher’s shop, with original tiled walls, mosaic tiles on the floors and a changing room covered entirely with mirrors.

And, while the three stores are all designed to appeal to a niche fashion audience, Ibi believes that, as the difficult economy forces shoppers to consider their purchases, consumers will be drawn to more “special” shopping experiences away from London’s thoroughfares. “People will buy things they love that are really special, but maybe not so many of them,” says Ibi. “It can be a good time for creativity.” —Nina Jones

LONDON’S NEW WEST END With its pastel pink mews houses, quaint markets and cobbled streets, Notting Hill attracts throngs of London tourists. But there’s more to Notting Hill than the travel guides’ trail and movie locations. A clutch of edgy retailers have lighted on the fringes of the area—to the north and east of Portobello Road—to set up shop.

While the sprawling, gritty West London landscape might lack Notting Hill’s chocolate-box prettiness, retailers have been drawn by the unconventional shop spaces on offer, bigger shop floors and comparatively reasonable rents.

Sophie Merchant opened Merchant Archive (320 Kilburn Lane), a boutique carrying Victorian through to Forties vintage clothing and contemporary brands such as Zambesi and the denim label Double M, in late 2007. The 635-square-foot store is housed in a former Lipton general store, which features walls covered with Victorian porcelain tiles, high ceilings and uneven stone floors. All the vintage furniture that Merchant

Merchant Archive

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It takes a team of skilled craftsmen to make jeans that look like they’ve been run over by a truck.

At least one trend will be more battered than the economy in 2009.

Ripped, battered, paint-splashed or dirty denim, as spotted in spring collections from Balmain to Just Cavalli, point to a new extreme in vintage styles. “There’s a move toward ultragrunge, a lot of very big holes, very destroyed styles,” says Blandine Boudet, a fashion designer at Nelly Rodi, a Paris-based trend agency. “They’re really letting go,” she says, referring to mills at the Denim by Première Vision textiles show held in Paris in December.

Indeed, after making its comeback over the last two or three seasons, the vintage trend has evolved into a widespread movement, says Philippe Freedman, a designer at denim consultancy Rad Rags, noting that worn-out styles have trickled down both to the mass market and to retailers who were previously reluctant to put holeriddled jeans on the racks. To wit, denim players are pushing the limits to see how far the trend will stretch. “We sell ideas more than the fabrics themselves,” says Paola Vettorazzo, area manager for North Europe and the U.S. at Italy’s ITV. To find inspiration, ITV’s vice president of research and development, Paolo Gnutti, scours secondhand shops in Berlin, Tokyo, London and Los Angeles. “But only the very bad secondhand places,” he insists, noting that vintage stores in Paris, for instance, are often too chic to carry really destroyed styles.

Others road test jeans in physically demanding environments. “One of our wash designers went to a construction site next to the factory and gave 20 pairs of pants to a bricklayer, a painter, a steelworker and so on, and two months later took them back,” says Romain Narcy, marketing director at An Edwin ad.

Torn looks at Denim Authority.

Balmain, spring 2009.

Turkish mill Ereks Garment Co. “He got a dozen different wash references.”

On another occasion, when visiting a factory, the same designer spotted a worker’s battered old Levi’s and went on to create a new wash from them.

Nascent Italian brand Onvis is building its business in a similar way.

The company sells its Bluevirgin raw selvage denim from about 45 euros, or $60 at current exchange, to 69 euros, or $92, via its e-commerce site, with a label telling its owner to “Use it, destroy it, live it.” The customer can then send a picture of his or her used jeans to Onvis, and if the company chooses to replicate that design, the customer will receive 1 euro, or $1.34, in royalties for every pair sold. The jeans are named after the previous owner, and all the details, from worn knees to whiskers near the pockets, are replicated. “We want to create washes that even people who are crazy about denim think are old, but we did it yesterday,” says founder Shannon Sadler, who previously worked for Replay. To kick-start the concept, Onvis will give away pairs to people with interesting livelihoods, a traveler or a photographer, say, auctioning off their original jeans once the wash has been copied.

It’s another initiative in the ongoing search to re-create vintage by authentic means, which has seen the denim industry return to manual methods after years of automation-driven production. “Everyone has their own system and their own recipes, but overall the industry has put itself into artisans’ shoes in order to be more precise and closer to natural wear and tear,” says Freedman. When denim sales plummeted some 12 years ago, Freedman recalls, designers turned back to grassroots methods to drive growth, since certain industrial techniques, like using laser technology to make whiskers, for instance, resulted in them going flat very rapidly. Today, laser machines are used largely in addition to manual treatments or for mass market products, Freedman says.

While many laundries keep their methods top secret, much of the worn effects currently à la mode are created using sandpaper of varying thickness on jeans placed on molds made of wood, metal or rubber. While consumers long have re-created distressed denim styles themselves, experts warn it’s not as easy as it might look. “A person at home might think, I can make this, but they could never get the same look,” says Edouardo Tavares, commercial director at Denim Authority, a Tunisian mill, referring to a worn and ripped effect.

“This goes through many hours of labor, lots of people doing this by hand, spending as much as 10 days in the laundry,” she adds. “The more destroyed, the more work there is.” —Ellen Groves

IN 2007, 60 PERCENT OF BRITS UNDER 25 SAID THEY BOUGHT THE CLOTHES THEY WANTED AND DIDN’T CARE HOW THEY WERE PRODUCED. IN 2008, ONLY 36 PERCENT SAID THAT. (SOURCE: TNS WORLDPANEL FASHION)

BALMAIN PHOTO BY STEPHANE FEUGERE; DENIM AUTHORITY BY DOMINIQUE MAITRE

TORN TO BE

STYLED

HOW

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produced by Meeting Group spa

Treviso (Italy)

+39 0422 6113

The Mavericks big-wave competition.

HOW

MAVERICKS SPIRIT Turning a world-renowned surfing competition into an activewear line is as risky as the event itself.

YOUNG GERMANS ARE SMOKING LESS: 15 PERCENT OF GERMANS BETWEEN 12 AND 17 YEARS OLD SMOKE, COMPARED WITH 28 PERCENT IN 2001. (SOURCE: SPORT + MARKT)

PHOTOS BY SETH MIGDAIL

Surfers worldwide already know about Mavericks, a one-day, big-wave Mavericks Surf Ventures was formed in 2004, the competition had only winter contest in northern California that can convene anytime from been held twice, with surf brand Quiksilver as a sponsor.

December through March and with just a 24-hour notice, as soon as the Mavericks’ powerful and cold swells can top 50 feet and rush as a giant, fleeting swells arrive off the coast of Half Moon Bay. single peak through a narrow channel that dangerously skirts rocks.

Now, sponsors of the event are looking to make the competition a Surfers have been injured, and one death has occurred in the history of household name with ambitions to sell a the event, which in 2004 was called the “Super Mavericks outdoors and après-sports apparel Bowl of Big-Wave Surfing” by Sports Illustrated.

The opening ceremony at brand for men and women that goes beyond The competition is open to the top 24 The Mavericks Surf Contest. surfer chic. surfers in the world, among whom there’s “There are a strong set of brand values such a camaraderie that last year’s $30,000 in you can attribute to Mavericks besides prize money was shared by the finalists. “It’s surfing,” says Hap Klopp, who’s advising exhilarating. When you’re in the peak, you have Mavericks Surf Contest sponsors on how to be fully committed to the ride and know how to create an apparel brand from such a the wave breaks. It’s also a very long wave— cult sports event. In the Seventies, Klopp 300 yards,” says last year’s winner, Southern transformed San Francisco–based The North Californian Greg Long.

Face mountaineering supply stores into an The last Mavericks contest occurred on outdoor apparel line that now is owned by VF January 12, 2008, and, with only one day’s Corp. Klopp says Mavericks can make a similar notice, 50,000 spectators showed up on leap to international apparel fame by pairing Pillar Point to watch the action a half a mile quality apparel with the surf contest’s image away, while another 1,000 paid $25 to see a of courage, athletic integrity, authenticity, live telecast in San Francisco’s AT&T baseball natural beauty and raw excitement. stadium 40 miles away. At press time, contest The branding of Mavericks started organizers were still waiting on this season’s five years ago when San Francisco sports swells, which generally last less than a week promoter Keir Beadling joined forces with and on occasion don’t arrive. Awaiting sales Jeff Clark, a surfing legend and surfboard are promotional Mavericks 2009 hoodies, craftsman in the nautical burg of Princeton-by-the-Sea, which is near T-shirts, hats and beanies.

Half Moon Bay. As a teenager in the Sixties, Clark was one of the first With almost 1.3 million additional viewers on the Mavericks Web known surfers to ride the giant waves off of Pillar Point that are more site and millions more being reached through media, Beadling says the typical of Hawaii. Those waves eventually were named after his dog. Until contest “is truly a global phenomenon.” —Joanna Ramey

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27 FEBRUARY 2 MARCH 2009

COLLEONI GATE PAV. 3

COLLECTIONS AUTUMN WINTER 2009/2010 WOMEN’S Prêt à porter

www.milanovendemoda.fieramilanoexpocts.it

WHY

SPIN CYCLE The chicest new accessory is also the greenest way to get around.

Forget fragrances and handbags: The latest brand extension comes on two wheels.

As cycling picks up its global pace, with dedicated lanes rolling out across the world’s capitals and glossies filled with shots of Agyness Deyn or Chloë Sevigny pedal-pushing, fashion labels are opting for the humble bicycle as a vehicle for brand image.

“We want to be in some way connected to the street,” says Jonny Johansson, creative director of Sweden’s Acne, which tapped Italy’s Bianchi, one of the world’s best-known cycling manufacturers, for its made-to-order Pista racing bike, due out this spring.

“It’s about a love for cycling rather than the hype,” says Morten Mildgaard, Web designer for Danish streetwear label Wood Wood, which collaborated with Danish bike manufacturer Vision to create a road-racing carbon fiber bike that’s so light it wouldn’t be allowed in the Tour de France competition.

It’s priced at a whopping 10,000 euros, or $12,700. “It’s not a fashion bike,” declares Mildgaard.

Acne and Wood Wood join the likes of Chanel, Gucci, Comptoir des Cotonniers and Puma, who all introduced bikes in the past year, following Paul Smith, a keen cyclist and pioneer of the trend.

Fashion always has sought out things that are getting attention, notes Wayne Hemingway, who created the U.K.’s Red or Dead fashion brand in the Nineties before going on to found Hemingway Design, whose products include Roadrunner, a fold-up bike.

It’s also a way to underscore brand identity. Chanel’s model came with quilted saddlebags, Comptoir des Cotonniers designed a tandem to emphasize its mother-daughter theme and Puma recalled its functional sports heritage with a frame that glows in the dark.

“Interestingly, it is only Chanel and Gucci that have produced classic, upright models. The others have all opted for the youth market with speedy racer forms,” notes Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagencyclechic.com, a blog offering “street style and bike advocacy in high heels.”

“Given the fact that most bicycles in the world, especially in countries with strong bicycle cultures, are upright models—and this model is experiencing a renaissance in cities around the world—it seems that Chanel and Gucci have their finger closer to the pulse,” he says.

However, he noted that the fashion bike phenomenon is little more than branding dressed up as corporate social responsibility. “I doubt these bicycles will leave so much as a skid mark on the consumers’ consciousness,” he says, adding that genuine bicycle brands, such as Velorbis and Umberto Dei, ultimately will reap the benefits of such branding. “Consumers, at the end of the day, will buy a bicycle from people who are dedicated to making them.”

Keen to highlight the label’s legitimacy in cycling, Mildgaard pointed out that Wood Wood’s founders, Brian Jensen and Karl-Oskar Olsen, are both enthusiastic cyclists, going so far as to launch a racing

A look from Acne’s 2009 collaboration with Bianchi.

team in 2007. “We wanted to make a statement, to say we have a close relation to the sport,” Mildgaard says. “I don’t think the other brands that have done bikes necessarily have a tradition in that.”

Acne’s Johansson freely admits he knows “nothing about biking,” hence the collaboration with Bianchi, an established name, founded in 1885. “When you go into a field where it’s more like a hobby, you don’t want to make a mistake,” he says. Bianchi took an existing men’s frame, the Pista, and shrunk it down, while Acne lent its aesthetic in feminine, suede saddles plus a choice of yellow, orange or pink frames.

A woman on a man’s bicycle summed up the simple, athletic take on men’s wear Johansson had in mind for Acne’s New Standard collection.

The women’s line, which includes T-shirts, chinos, shift dresses and biker jackets for spring, was inspired by a girl he saw one morning in New York on a man’s bike, wearing a men’s suit jacket with leggings, plus a bike helmet, bag and shades. “She looked amazing,” he recalls.

With London planning a Paris-style, low-cost rent-a-bike scheme by next year and one of every two Copenhageners expected to cycle to work by 2015 (from one in three today), plus the growing number of car-free days, the amount of hip young bikers is likely to increase.

That’s not lost on Johansson, who already is hatching designs for another bike. “My job is to be current,” he says. “And I think that the bike is very important and very current.” —Ellen Groves

IN SHANGHAI, STUDENTS SPEND HALF OF THEIR MONTHLY BUDGETS ON CLOTHING, COSMETICS AND ENTERTAINMENT, WHILE THEY SPEND LESS THAN 10 PERCENT ON STUDY MATERIALS. (SOURCE: ACCESS ASIA’S REPORT, CHINA’S YOUTH 2008: YOUTH CONSUMERS & LIFESTYLE TRENDS) 3 4 / W W D FA S T

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KEEP IT IN CZECH

PHOTOS BY SHARON DONOVAN

At Prague’s design schools, growing the country’s fashion industry is a matter of national pride.

Tucked along the wide corridors of a fourstory villalike school building in Prague, sewing machines from the Twenties are on display like so many venerable antiques. Although sidelined Fashion in favor of technological innovations inside the designer and classrooms, the Clothing Design College and its teacher Libena adjunct secondary school’s collection of obsolete Rachová. sewing machines serve as a visual clue as to how far fashion has come in the Czech Republic.

“The old machinery is useful for students to Nina Provaan Smetanová, one of those appreciate the evolution from the 19th century to graduates, today is a widely respected the technology of the 21st century,” observes Marta fashion commentator and a fashion design Chvojková, the school’s international coordinator. teacher at NCSU’s Prague Institute. “From The focus of study also has evolved from the Students Charlotte Guice and Katelyn Ann Wells. the early days of European history, Prague Fifties, when the emphasis was on training students was an important intersection of culture and to be factory workers stitching underwear, to the Nineties, when a trade and a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures,” she says, new mission focused the coursework on clothing design. adding that Praha, the Czech spelling of Prague, means “threshold.”

“Today, everyone in the Czech Republic wants to be a designer,” “We feel Prague is geographically predestined to become a fashion she says, noting that the education system is trying to keep up with hub for the newly formed Europe.” students’ interests, but the career paths are not always direct.

That opportunity to take on the world fashion market is fueling Even Chvojková and fellow directors at other educational fashion design programs in smaller towns throughout the Czech facilities concede that the market in the Czech Republic might not Republic. The most recently launched design-oriented school, the be especially strong right now. But they are optimistic that more Institute of Art and Design at the University of West Bohemia, opened education in the fashion design field will enable the country to create in Pilsen in 2004 to fill the void in art and design education in the an industry and compete on an international stage. region. Another program, at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, augments At the Clothing College, Chvojková estimates that about 20 studies in fashion design with courses in advertising, marketing percent of the graduates open their own fashion design studios, while and merchandising. Northwest of Prague, at the University of Jan other graduates find jobs as assistants to designers or in the costume Evangelista Purkyne in Ustí nad Labem, fashion design students departments of theaters and film studios. Still others find work as are encouraged to not only work with textiles in their concepts, but stylists or reporters for fashion newspapers. explore nontraditional materials—paper, wood, metal and glass—to In Prague, art is intrinsically linked with lifestyle—and fashion enhance artistic creations. design enjoys a high priority and status. The city’s rich history and A keen sense of duty to help grow an industry inspires many of artistic culture spurred North Carolina State University several years the teachers in the field, including Ladislav Provaan, who teaches ago to launch its Prague Institute, which includes a semester abroad fashion design history at NCSU’s Prague Institute, and Libena and features fashion and costume design in its course offerings.

Rochová, who teaches at the Academy of Applied Arts, in addition to Dana Bartelt, director of NCSU’s Prague Institute, says Prague operating a full-time fashion design studio. One of the country’s bestoffers students accessibility to fashion venues off the beaten track. known designers, Rochová is dedicated to providing an education to Many of Prague’s hundreds of boutiques are run by independent ambitious young students who might otherwise leave the country to designers who don’t follow market trends and offer sources of study at other European institutions, she says. inspiration to young design enthusiasts trying to carve their own paths.

Aware that the young designers might still leave for jobs in A few blocks away from the Prague Institute is the city’s Europe if the fashion industry stalls within the Czech Republic, she is venerable Academy of Applied Arts, which was founded in 1885 for confident the goal is worth pursuing. “Fashion has always been a part the development of professional skills for artisans and craftsmen, of the country’s history, in which national costumes have played an and today focuses on fashion design, along with architecture, glass important role for hundreds of years,” Rochová says. making, industrial and graphic design, illustration and sculpture.

NCSU’s Prague Institute director agrees. “The concentration on The trend toward developing more fashion design education fashion design is not new,” says Bartelt. “It has always been a big part programs has escalated since 1990, when fashion design schools of the culture. But now, the opportunities for young Czechs are much started popping up around the country, turning out graduates greater with the membership in the [European Union], so its youth who have been taught, in turn, by other graduates of fashion can easily travel around the globe to gain experience and make design institutions. an impact.” —Sharon Donovan

33 PERCENT OF FRENCH WOMEN WHO OWN MORE THAN 20 PAIRS OF SHOES BELIEVE THIS NUMBER TO BE “REASONABLE.” (SOURCE: TNS SOFRES) W W D FA S T / 3 5

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ALL SWELL

WHY

White tie isn’t for men only at Berlin’s Bohème Sauvage party.

Simon Bader and Beate Ditzen cut the rug.

Inga Jacob inspects the casino.

Geneviève Schetagne channels Louise Brooks.

Guests take a gamble in the casino.

Leonie Krepper and Dominique Guillou look smashing.

Berlin nightlife gets an old-fashioned dose of glamour. one perfect red rose. The spitting image of Louise Brooks, with a sweet pink bow tied around her brunette bob, writer Geneviève Schetagne laughingly says of her white drop-waist shift: “It’s actually my wedding dress!” Almost anything goes (but jeans and sneakers are verboten), and there’s room for modern mixing—think flapper grunge, or Bonnie and Clyde in HotPants.

Bohème Sauvage guests can partake of absinthe, lose their (fake) reichsmarks at the small casino, watch a burlesque show and cut a rug to hot jazz, swing, Balkan, tango or klezmer after a complimentary Charleston lesson. A cigarette girl not only has tobacco and chocolate treats on offer, but also sells oversize fabric flowers, long strings of beads and men’s suspenders for those guests who feel underaccessorized.

Elsewhere in Berlin, Forties fans hot to fox-trot hit the jackpot with Swing Royal at the newly renovated Admiralspalast Theater. The event serves up big bands, jive and glamour girls, and a minishop with vintage fashion and accessories.

The 100-year-old venue once counted an iceskating rink and a bowling alley among its public pleasures, and now shines with a retro flair on

these evenings that pop up about every three months. Berlin’s army of swing aficionados come out in full force—after all, they’ve been taking lessons all over the city to prepare.

For those who need a regular fix saloonstyle, each Sunday brings Coconut Grove to the restaurant-bar White Trash Fast Food, a kitschy Chinese restaurant–turned-club with design elements from tiki to biker. It’s practically a hipster Disneyland. “Make sure you wear an evening dress,” growls the tattooed man at the bar when asked for a table reservation. Patrons happily knock back cocktails such as Moscow Baby Mules and Pisco Sours, and recent acts include Pinkspots, a cute Andrews Sisters–type trio who harmonize Thirties-style with originals and swinging versions of old songs such as “Chim Chim Cher-ee” in German.

With Germany now officially in a recession, these parties also offer good value, even sometimes including a welcoming drink in the entry price. Cover charges run from about 3 euros, or $4.30 at current exchange, to 20 euros, or $28.70. Yet one more reason to party like it’s 1929. —Susan Stone

GLOBALLY, 18- TO 24-YEAR-OLDS SAY THEY’RE SPENDING AN AVERAGE OF TWO-AND-A-HALF HOURS ON THE INTERNET EVERY DAY. (SOURCE: SYNOVATE)

PHOTOS BY MATTI HILLIG

Berlin hipsters are laying off the electronica and puttin’ on the ritz at a series of parties around the city held in the hippest clubs and most historic hot spots.

Making it past the velvet rope at the roving Bohème Sauvage party is not about who’s who, but what you wear. The dress code is dapper, dandy, diva or flapper. This swanky mode is quite a contrast to Berlin’s normally laid-back street look. Fedoras take the place of hoodies, hair is finger-waved instead of flat-ironed and makeup runs to the smoky eye paired with carefully painted Cupid’s bow lips in blood red.

Hostess Inga Jacob started the party as a salon for 40 people in her Berlin group house, and it quickly grew to a monthly must-do for 300 to 400 people (with countless numbers turned away at the door of the venue du jour). She’s inspired not just by the styles of the Roaring Twenties, but also the philosophy. “It was an excessive time, but it was also a time when everything was new,” she says.

These days, everything’s old, and good vintage can be hard to track down. Musician Dominik Bretsch scoured eBay for his dashing top hat, pairing it with a black suit, bow tie and

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17-12-2008 17:52:38

EASTERN PR MTV Arabia gives Middle Eastern youth a new voice. By Ritu Upadhyay When MTV launched its Middle Eastern channel in November 2007, some observers were skeptical about how revolutionary a concept it really was. With more than a dozen music channels on air, Arab audiences already had seen a lot of music-oriented programming.

But MTV’s parent company, Viacom, was confident it was tapping into a high-potential emerging market. With its mix of 70 percent Western music and 30 percent Arabic, MTV Arabia was hoping to serve a different audience than its competitors, who were more focused on Arabic pop music.

Headquartered in Dubai and broadcasting throughout the region, MTV promised to bring a distinct blend of East and West to viewers from Egypt to Morocco and Kuwait to Saudi Arabia. But what no one predicted was the way it would blend Eastern and Western sounds. Much to the surprise of viewers who have tuned in over the last year, the network delivered on popularizing a new sound in the Middle East: Arabic hip-hop, a blend of Western-style hip-hop street beats performed in both English and Arabic.

The arrival of MTV Arabia provided a unique opportunity for many young Arab artists who long had been influenced by Western musical styles but had their own cultural twist on it, explains Dany Neville, MTV’s official DJ. Neville, whose family originally hails from Lebanon, grew up just outside of Dubai. “Most of us from here grew up listening to American music. It has been a great influence.”

Neville, whose real name is Dany Nabil, got his break hosting a show on Dubai radio at just 17. “Back then, all the English-speaking DJs were from the U.K. or Australia,” he says. Producers gave him the on-air name Neville instead of Nabil. “It’s just stuck since then.”

Neville is today one of Dubai’s preeminent DJs and a veteran in the young music scene. Along with his role at MTV, he continues to host a popular radio program called The Edge on Dubai’s Radio One and has

been responsible for discovering many emerging artists from the region.

“Bit by bit, I saw a lot of home-grown artists coming to me with their music, and it was really good,” he says. Neville started feeding some of this to MTV and it took off. He helped create a hit show on MTV Arabia called Hip HopNa, dedicated to scouting new hip-hop talent from the region. With 200 million viewers across the Middle East, the exposure from the program has been phenomenal for young music acts. “These kids are getting record deals now. MTV has been a great stepping stone for them, which they never had before,” says Neville.

In the past, Arab youth looked West in search of opportunity, but now they are finding it at their doorsteps. Lebanese-born and Dubai-raised Karl Wolf recently won an MTV Europe Award for best Arab act. Though he is a Canadian citizen now and has made a name for himself in the Canadian music industry, his rise to stardom was fast-tracked in the Middle East by the arrival of MTV Arabia. His hit single “Africa,” a remake of the popular Eighties song, was the first music video ever to play on MTV Arabia when it launched.

“My music is what MTV Arabia is all about—a fusion between North American and Arabic flavors,” he says. Though he sings in English, Wolf’s music reflects his Arabic heritage. His second single, “Butterflies,” incorporates Arabic drum beats. The sexy video features a troupe of belly dancers.

“Our objective is to support talented Arab stars like Karl and let them brush shoulders with some of the most respected artists in the world and enable them to perform as representatives of our culture,” says Samr Al Marzouqi, channel manager of MTV Arabia.

Arabic hip-hop also is giving youth a pop-culture outlet to convey more serious messages in a very politically charged region of the world.

Yassin Alsalman, 26, has been making waves in the Middle East with his rebuttal rap to a song by Busta Rhymes titled “Arab Money.” The lyrics of the song extol the oil wealth in the Middle East and the rich lifestyle of Arabs. “I was at a club here in Dubai and Arabs were getting down to it, and I realized it was not right. I have been a huge Busta Rhymes fan for a long time, but it was disappointing.

“The song talks of rolling up in Dubai, buying $20 million lofts and taking private jets to Baghdad,” says Alsalman. “I don’t want to call him an ignorant man, but maybe they are just not aware of the Middle Eastern plight. Kids in Palestine can’t shop at these malls. The Middle East isn’t just Dubai. This is a great template, but most of our places are war stricken or under the rule of a dictator,” says Alsalman, who performs using his stage name, The Narcicyst.

In his response, The Narcicyst chides Busta for his ignorance with lines like, “God show you the light…The pain in my people’s blood runs thicker than oil fields.”

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OMISE Perhaps the most offensive part was the hook of Rhymes’ song, which is a garble of words that is supposed to sound like Arabic but in actuality is just gibberish. Alsalman, who’s family is originally from Basra, Iraq, also grew up outside of his homeland. But he is proud of Iraq’s musical tradition and culture. “If only they had actually used some real Arabic words, people in this part of the world could have genuinely embraced this song.”

Soon after The Narcicyst posted his rebuttal song, titled “Real Arab Money,” online, Rhymes called him to apologize “for the misunderstanding created by [‘Arab Money’],” according to a story originally posted on AllHipHop.com. This report was later confirmed in The National, an Englishlanguage newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates. “He pulled the track and the remix that came out with it after the negative feedback going on in the Arab and Muslim community,” Alsalman told The National. “He called me personally and said he wanted to tell the Arab and Muslim community that he apologized.”

Rhymes pulled the track, which is a major hit for the American rapper, from radio stations and stores worldwide, and also planned to take steps to have it removed from the Internet.

Alsalman now lives in Canada, but recently has come back to his native Dubai to work on a movie project. He’s also shopping around for a label for his latest album, P.H.A.T.W.A., which stands for Political Hip-Hop Attracting the World’s Attention. Avenues such as MTV Arabia, he says, help make Dubai a legitimate force in the international music community.

“One of the most heartbreaking things about the war is, not only did the infrastructure go, [but] the museums were destroyed [and] the culture is getting deleted. Sometimes it feels like we’re being reversed into stone ages.”

Yet these avenues are creating something new in the region that captures the spirit of the East and West.

“Our generation of Arabs is a global generation. We don’t belong in any one place or box,” says Alsalman. They have found a home, musically speaking.

Dany Neville

The Narcicyst

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2

T There’s nothing neutral about the latest basics.

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FUTU REC L A S S I C KHAK GET A I AND DE NIM B JOLT P H OT O ASIC F A O G RA C I D BRIGH S PHED

BY E M TS. IR E RA L P

From left: BEN SHERMAN cotton sweater; EARNEST SEWN cotton T-shirt; FRESH INK cotton jeans.

PAUL SMITH SPECTACLES glasses. 55DSL cotton jacket; GAUDI cotton polo shirt; J BRAND cotton and Lycra high-rise jeans. GRAHAM & SPENCER belt. PEPE JEANS LONDON silk and cotton dress. REBECCA NORMAN earrings.

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BRAY STEVE ALAN linen vest; AKIKO OGAWA silk jumpsuit. HEATHER KOSCH necklace; SKINNY ring.

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ALMOST FAMOUS cotton and spandex denim jacket; ACNE cotton dress.

DEKA RAY necklace; CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN shoes.

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G-STAR cotton trench; ARMAND BASI ONE cotton corset and cotton pants. SCOSHA NYC necklace; DEA MODA belt; REPORT SIGNATURE shoes.

Opposite, from left: BLUE BLOOD cotton twill trench and cotton French cuff shirt; GRAHAM & SPENCER scarf. GENTLE FAWN cotton top; TRUE RELIGION BRAND JEANS cotton denim skirt.

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WILLIAM RAST cotton blazer; MARITHE + FRANCOIS GIRBAUD cotton and spandex skirt. BAND OF OUTSIDERS FOR MANOLO BLAHNIK pumps.

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1/6/09 6:18:45 PM

From left: ARAKS cotton and polyester vest; HARLAN BEL wool crepe vest top; JENNI KAYNE silk tank; FORNARINA cotton and elastin pants. MARC ECKO CUT & SEW cotton vest; AVELON BY BLUE BLOOD cotton button-up; TAKE TWO cotton and elastic jeans.

BAND OF OUTSIDERS knit tie; CONVERSE sneakers.

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1/6/09 6:20:46 PM

REPLAY cotton blazer; ENDOVANERA wool vest; BLUE NOTCH cotton tank; MUSTANG JEANS cotton twill shorts.

FLUD watch; ADIDAS ORIGINALS sneakers.

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1/6/09 6:22:12 PM

CYCLE cotton, polyamide and elastane romper; TOM SCOTT polyester skirt. BAND OF OUTSIDERS bow tie; MICHELLE FANTACI JEWELRY bracelet.

This feature styled by KIM FRIDAY. Models: LUDMILLA/Supreme, YULIA/One, YARIS/Ford and PATRICK PHILLIPS/Red; hair by WESLEY O’MEARA for Kérastase Paris at The Wall Group; makeup by TAMAH K at See Management using Lancôme; manicure by ALICIA TORELLO at Defacto for Mac Pro; contributing market editor: PEJU FAMOJURE.

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1/6/09 6:23:38 PM

TRENDS

Lo efямВ er Ra nda ll

Bo dh i

ish yF nk Pu

ole hp ut o S

n tio ec l l Co

Killah Jeans Z Co.

0115.FAST.52-53.Trend.Zip.a;19.indd 1

1/6/09 1:55:29 PM

nior DKNY Jeans Ju se Dollhou

PHOTOS BY GEORGE CHINSEE AND ROBERT MITRA; STYLED BY KIM FRIDAY

Gold Black Diesel

s ndbag ry Ha Laund e s e Chin

Radcliffe London

Sev en For All Ma nki nd

Heavy metal hits a high note.

ZIP IT 0115.FAST.52-53.Trend.Zip.a;19.indd 2

1/6/09 1:58:07 PM

TRENDS

itton David B Buffalo

Mis sM eJ ean s

ME KD eni m

RIP IT eans Star J Vanilla

Boss Oran ge

0115.FAST.54-55.Trend.Rip.b;18.indd 1

Pr ps

Tr Br ue R an el d J igi ea on ns

Overindulge in distressed denim.

1/6/09 3:03:25 PM

s Jean YMI

0115.FAST.54-55.Trend.Rip.b;18.indd 2

PHOTOS BY GEORGE CHINSEE AND ROBERT MITRA; STYLED BY KIM FRIDAY

Ch ris tia n Au dig ier De nim

Bl ue Or ga nic by Se eT hr uS ou l

Hu ds on Je an s

Fa ith Co nn ex ion

Le vi ’s Ca pi ta lE

1/6/09 3:04:34 PM

RESOURCES 55DSL 212-255-6603

AAcne 212-414-5814 Adidas Originals 212-219-1603 AG Adriano Goldschmied 213-683-0030 Akiko Ogawa 646-619-6832 Almost Famous 212-764-4545 Araks 212-982-5652 Armand Basi One +39-93-484-6734 Avelon by Blue Blood 212-226-5507

BBand of Outsiders 212-925-9700 Ben Sherman 212-840-8000 Blue Blood 212-226-5507 Blue Notch 212-274-0016 Blue Organic by See Thru Soul 212-944-8022 Bodhi 212-888-6288 Boss Orange 800-HUGOBOSS Bray Steve Alan +39-05-1865-9616 Buffalo David Bitton 212-302-6767

CChinese Laundry Handbags 888-747-ACRO Christian Audigier Denim 310-670-2290 Christian Louboutin 212-396-1884 Converse 800-554-2667

Cycle 212-888-1812

DDea Moda 212-967-0163 Deka Ray 212-431-4083 Diesel 212-755-9200 Diesel Black Gold 212-755-9200 DKNY Jeans Junior 212-626-3857 Dollhouse 212-719-9363

EEarnest Sewn 212-675-0553 Endovanera 212-206-8310

FFaith Connexion 212-265-0856 Fiorucci +39-02-659-2089 FLüD 718-388-7265 Fornarina 212-219-9077 Fresh Ink 212-869-6300

GGaudi +39-05-969-1277 Gentle Fawn 866-992-9226 Graham & Spencer 213-622-0717 G-Star 212-431-3730

HHarlan Bel 646-414-1316 Heather Kosch 212-529-1407

IN THE YEAR

2008

THE REGION WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF YOUTHS UNDER THE AGE OF 14 WAS THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (39.4 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION), FOLLOWED

BY LATIN AMERICA (28.9 PERCENT) AND ASIA PACIFIC (25.3 PERCENT). NORTH AMERICA’S PROPORTION WAS 19.8 PERCENT, WHILE IN WESTERN EUROPE, THE UNDER-14 POPULATION MADE UP 17.7 PERCENT. (SOURCE: EUROMONITOR)

GENERALLY SPEAKING, STUDENTS IN SHANGHAI STUDYING THE ARTS SPEND MORE ON FAMOUS BRANDS THAN SCIENCE STUDENTS. AMONG THOSE STUDENTS IN THE ARTS, THOSE MAJORING IN ART EDUCATION FAVOR NAME BRANDS THE MOST, WITH SUCH PURCHASES REPRESENTING UP TO 80 PERCENT OF THEIR MONTHLY EXPENDITURES. (SOURCE: ACCESS ASIA’S REPORT CHINA’S YOUTH 2008: YOUTH CONSUMERS & LIFESTYLE TRENDS)

5 6 / W W D FA S T

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Hooch 206-382-1566 Hudson Jeans 212-871-6636

Rebecca Norman 760-804-0246 Replay 212-462-2045 Report Signature 425-586-4940 Rogan 646-827-7565

JJ Brand 213-489-5265 Jenni Kayne 323-469-1800

SScosha NYC 718-387-4618

KKillah 212-597-0800 LLevi’s Capital E 415-501-4745

Seven For All Mankind 646-839-5400 Skinny 323-655-6446 Southpole Collection 212-840-9881

Loeffler Randall 212-226-8787

TTake Two +39-04-9906-5212

MMarithé + François Girbaud 212-302-0600

Tom Scott 212-352-9769 Transit Par-Such +39-04-4531-4307 True Religion Brand Jeans 213-683-0050

Marc Ecko Cut & Sew 917-262-1002 MEK Denim 214-638-1700 Michelle Fantaci Jewelry 212-343-2600 Miss Me Jeans 323-235-7373 Mustang Jeans +49-79-4012-5778

VVictoria Simes for Zero + Maria Cornejo 212-925-3849 Vanilla Star Jeans 212-827-0301

PPaul Smith Spectacles 310-734-5000

WWilliam Rast 212-677-6868 YYMI Jeans 323-581-7700 ZZ Co. Jeans 212-354-4070

Pepe Jeans London +44-207-7313-3800 Prps 212-966-0464 Pudel +44-207-435-2727 Punky Fish 888-688-3657

RRadcliffe London 212-401-1212 IN GERMANY, THE AVERAGE PAIR OF JEANS SELLS FOR 40 EUROS, OR $50 AT CURRENT EXCHANGE. LESS THAN 5 PERCENT OF JEANS SOLD IN GERMANY COST MORE THAN 150 EUROS, OR $192.

(SOURCE: GFK)

ALMOST

3/4

I N I TA LY, A S I N G L E P E R S O N U N D E R AG E 35 S P E N DS 6 . 5 PERCENT OF HIS OR HER SA L A RY O N C LOT H ES .

(SOURCE: ISTAT)

OF FRENCH WOMEN AGES 18 TO 60 DON’T SPEND MORE THAN 75 EUROS, OR $94 AT CURRENT EXCHANGE, ON A PAIR OF JEANS.

MORE THAN

(SOURCE: TGI EUROPA)

%

50

OF EUROPEAN WOMEN AGES 16 TO 30 PRACTICE SOME KIND OF SPORT.

(SOURCE: TNS FOR NIKE)

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P.S.

Quirky jewelry makes a big statement.

France Jewelry designer Lyie Van Rycke has a big heart, and its contours are traced in this delicate and whimsical chain necklace ($465).

It comes in rose or yellow gold.

—Laurent Folcher

Germany Heavy rapper-style chains are winning fans with Germany’s chic set.

Retailing at $256 at the F95 store, this leather and metal chain by Swedish designer Joanna Dauphin gives any glamour girl a hard-core edge tough enough for the grittiest Berlin social scene.

—Damien McGuinness

▲

Italy ▲ Pin your heart on your sleeve with this supersweet, handmade Murano glass brooch from Babbu ($127). With Valentine’s Day on its way, boyfriends be advised. —Alessandra Turra

Australia Elke Kramer’s offbeat and delicately detailed jewelry has been spotted on edgy international style arbiters such as Fafi, Karen O and Chiaki Kuriyama. Kramer’s new collection, called Trompe l’Oeil, includes these Art Deco–inspired resin and thread bracelets ($93). —Patty Huntington ▲

United States Known for his naturalistic approach to fashion, designer Rogan Gregory has a handcrafted capsule collection of oversize necklaces that offers a similar aesthetic this spring. Handmade from reclaimed wood and rope, the pieces will retail from $500 to $1,000. Here, his wooden Oblique Dichotomy necklace with enamel paint on cotton cord ($1,000). —Kim Friday

GERMANY PHOTO BY MATTI HILLIG; U.S. BY KYLE ERICKSEN

HOT AND BOLD

6G9 8G:9>I 8

1134 5969

4006 3044

13 PERCENT OF BRAZILIAN WOMEN AGES 15 TO 19 OWN A CREDIT CARD, COMPARED WITH 36 PERCENT OF 20- TO 24-YEAR-OLDS. (SOURCE: GRUPO IPSOS)

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