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II International Herald Tribune
Saturday-Sunday, September 30-October 1, 2006
DSQUARED
Shoes and outfits, urban and sporty, from Tod’s collection; and below, upscale winter jackets from ‘‘Gamme Rouge’’ by Moncler.
Tod’s sportive, evergreen appeal
MILAN
T he walls were covered with Dada
words in black, surreal lips in scar-
let, and — of course, shoes. For this was
one of the art-house presentations by
Tod’s — who still manage to highlight
the footwear.
Add to all the new shoes — such as
the ballerina flats with the house’s sig-
nature pebble soles — a host of ac-
KRIZIA
At Krizia, a little deja vu
By Jessica Michault
MILAN
S ometimes the music that accompan-
ies a show can give a good indica-
tion as to what the collection is all
about.
Case in point — Krizia — which
opened with Shirley Bassey singing the
line that ‘‘it’s all just a little bit of his-
tory repeating.” Repeat it did, as the de-
signer showed a number of variations
of the same dress.
It was a flowing chiffon design with
a slight 1940s feel that added interest by
contrasting pleated sleeves and skirts
with smocking across the midriff. And
you could have it short or long, with
Christopher Moore/Karl Prouse
Christopher Moore/Karl Prouse; below, courtesy of Moncler
cessories from shimmering metallic
leather belts to bracelets with crocodile
skin balls dangling like charms.
In the mix of urban and sporty that is
Tod’s signature was an extended col-
lection of bags for spring/summer:
lightweight, practical and with a hint of
futurism in silver and gold surfaces.
Then there is the capsule collection
of clothes by the American designer
sleeves or without, form fitting or with
a little wiggle room. There was also a
panoply of colors to choose from which
included purple, navy, khaki, sky blue
and aubergine.
With this many options, ladies will
be hard-pressed not to find at least one
version to add to their wardrobe.
Mariuccia Mandelli also sent out a
number of see-through, second-skin
dresses with a stripe or flower pattern
and some plucked raffia capes that
looked as if they had been repeatedly
snagged on something. These designs
deftly showed off the designer’s
prowess with knitwear but did not in-
spire a desire for an impulse purchase.
International Herald Tribune
Fashion
At DSquared,
a rollicking,
postwar romp
Continued from Page I
Only ‘‘Volare’’ was missing from the
1950s ‘‘Carina, Carina’’ soundtrack at
the DSquared show, where the set was
beachfront cafés and the mood was of
carefree Italian postwar days. In this
rollicking romp in Rimini, with models’
bosoms to the fore and rumps aft, any-
one could tell the boys from the girls.
But the designer twins Dean and Dan
Caten had taken that familiar theme of
the boyfriend shirt and tweaked it.
Blazers fitted with the seaside theme, as
ropes and nets lay on the deck runway,
but those jackets were shrunken almost
to bolero size.
They might sit snugly over a striped
shirt. Or that masculine combo of shirt
and suspenders was abstracted to make
a tiny cotton dress hanging from straps.
Male pants? Think short, think
shorts, think very short shorts, al-
though a few rounded rompers also
wrapped the legs at the thigh.
The show’s mildly creative idea was
to take the pleated bib of a formal dress
shirt and insert it in various hot sports,
including shorts fronts. With bright
primary colors, bold logo bangles and a
bit of lingerie lace at the end, the show
was nice enough as summer
sportswear. From its early, edgy camp
collections, DSquared shows have
turned totally commercial, but the duo
have a sense of fun.
What about the reality check that the
Milan shows so badly need? Taken out
of context, there was tailoring and den-
im to fit into even the world of work.
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of
the International Herald Tribune.
Derek Lam, whose fitted jackets and
shorts and safari dress form a modern
wardrobe base.
‘‘We are not in competition to be an
apparel brand’’ said Tod’s CEO, Diego
Della Valle. We want a jacket or a coat
of the season — an evergreen product
in very good taste.
A sporty glamour, melding athletic
dynamism with couture details is the
buzz of the moment. And when Aless-
andra Facchinetti did her second cap-
sule collection for Moncler, chains of
Olympic-style rings and crystal ‘‘tennis
ball’’ pendants were her favored ac-
cessories.
But ‘‘Gamme Rouge,’’ the upscale,
unique pieces from Moncler, known for
its down-filled, winter-warmer jackets,
is about more than external embellish-
ment.
Facchinetti played with organza,
streaks of beading and sophisticated
bows to make the pieces exceptional.
Working Olympic rings or racing
stripes into the design, so that the effect
was graphic but the fabrics airy and
light, Facchinetti created for summer a
casual stylishness that has already
been taken up by the movie actress Si-
enna Miller and Charlotte Casiraghi, of
the Monaco royal dynasty.
‘‘It was very interesting to put to-
gether different elements,’’ says Fac-
chinetti. Sportswear is a way to do
something very traditional but give it a
new energy.’’
— Suzy Menkes
Top, left to right: Andrew Lamb, Daniele Venturelli/WireImage.com; middle row, Andrew Lamb, Gigi Iorio/
WireImage.com, courtesy of Roberto Cavalli; bottom, courtesy of Armani Archives, Max Rossi/Reuters
Top, left to right Via Corso Como and the stylist Rachel Zoe; middle row, Nicky Hilton and friend, Paris Hilton and the singer
Rihanna with Roberto Cavalli, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kylie Minogue with Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce.
A Corso Como paved with stars
MILAN
A nyone can be a celebrity — that is the feeling in this city
now that the pedestrian-ized Corso Como has turned in-
to a promenade for fledgling fashionistas. Once, this small
street contained light industrial premises and food shops
among the usual homogenous Milanese surroundings.
When Carla Sozzani found space by a garage forecourt
and vegetable wholesaler 21 years ago and implanted a small
store at Corso Como 10 in 1988, she could never have envis-
aged herself as the epicenter of the city’s street style.
Their glam moms may still walk the Via Montenapoleone
and Via della Spiga shopping streets, but the kids hang out at
night at the bars or just on the paved area of Corso Como.
‘‘It is amazing — they look so sexy and they are there
every night and on Saturdays from 3 p.m.,’’ says Sozzani,
whose own area has long since expanded into a restaurant,
hotel, art gallery and book shop, as well as the multibrand
store. Now her area behind the planted trees of a discreet en-
WWW.DIOR.COM
New meaning for the term ‘niche market’
By Fleur Britten
A
LONDON
swarm of fashion hipsters
gathered at Topman’s flagship
emporium on Oxford Street
here. Inside, they made a
beeline to Lens, an in-store boutique
that sells exclusive, limited-edition col-
trance is the only remaining landmark, apart from the res- lections from up-and-coming design-
taurant Trattoria delle Langhe.
Perhaps the lure of this hot spot is that you can go there
and spend nothing, just see your gang of friends. But this be-
ers, ‘‘art directed’’ by Matthew Murphy,
one of Britain’s most influential buyers
and the owner of the avant-garde
ing Italy, the dress code is TV presenter, meaning ultrasexy boutique, B Store.
riffs on scooped girlie tops and denim hugging the body. ‘‘You don’t expect this gear in this
‘‘That’s where Dolce & Gabbana are so clever — they just kind of shop,’’ said Kisho, a Japanese
get this look,’’ says Sozzani. design student laden with Siv Stoldal
Such is the glamour quotient on Corso Como that Nicky and Dexter Wong designs. ‘‘And it’s a
Hilton was there this week blending in with the high octane real haven from high-street hell,’’ she
crowd. Meanwhile, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce added, referring to the low-end market.
snagged Kylie Minogue, not only for their rambunctious Shop-in-shops like Lens are the new
show on Thursday, but also for the opening of their new res- sliced bread of fashion.
taurant, where Hilton’s more famous sister, Paris, joined the Department stores may have offered
guests. If she had walked into Corso Como, she would have as much for years, but this incarnation
found countless clones of her glammed up style. is altogether more ‘‘experiential,’’ as
the marketers call it. ‘‘It’s about sur-
— Suzy Menkes prising and delighting the customer,’’
said Topman’s creative director, Gor-
don Richardson. ‘‘We’re offering some-
thing they didn’t expect.’’
It’s a growing trend. In Tokyo, the
fashion stylist Nicola Formichetti has
opened Side by Side boutique, with its
own art gallery, in the Laforet depart-
ment store. The luxury lingerie label
Agent Provocateur has seven shop-in-
shops from London to Hong Kong.
Jessica Morris, head of media and
marketing at Agent Provocateur, said:
‘‘It’s not just about walking up to a rack,
but feeling the whole ‘AP’ lifestyle —
the peepshow music, the fragrance, the
AP girls who really know their stuff,
the intimacy.’’
The New York boutique Opening
Ceremony has dedicated a mini-store to
Topshop (Topman’s big sister), which is
tucked away in the loft behind a stage
door. ‘‘It’s the main attraction here,’’
said the co-owner, Carol Lim, ‘‘but be-
cause it’s hidden people are like ‘Are we
allowed to go up there?’ They feel like
they’ve discovered something.’’
London’s most pioneering shops
Fashion
Left to right, clothing by Licentious at Lens, a shop within the Topman emporium in
London; inside Lens; and Agent Provocateur’s boutique at Galeries Lafayette in Berlin.
have even written the concept into
their blueprints. Dover Street Market
— Comme des Garçons’ most ambi-
tious store — plays host to numerous
shop-in-shops.
‘‘When it came to doing a London
shop, I didn’t feel like doing another bor-
ing monobrand store,’’ said Comme des
Garçons’s designer, Rei Kawakubo. ‘‘I
wanted to do something completely
new, where all kinds of visionaries could
work together in beautiful chaos.’’
As its name suggests, Dover Street
Market is filled with ‘‘stalls,’’ including
those operated by Lanvin, Undercover,
Ann Demeulemeester. The latest ar-
rival, launched at London Fashion
Week, is Pop Shop II, the commercial
venture of Katie Grand, a stylist and the
editor in chief of Pop Magazine.
‘‘Stallholders’’ are responsible for
their own set designs — Grand’s lim-
ited-edition pieces, which include such
designers as Miu Miu, Luella Bartley
and Donna Karan, are presented on
large fluorescent toadstools. ‘‘If you’re
spending thousands of pounds on a
International Herald Tribune
Saturday-Sunday, September 30-October 1, 2006 III
Esther Teichman, courtesy of Topman
coat,’’ Grand said, ‘‘it’s got to be an ex-
citing experience. Otherwise the shop
down the road will get the money.’’
Selfridges, widely regarded as the
trailblazer in bringing entertainment
to retail, is host to Agent Provocateur.
In June, a shop-in-shop set up there by
Umbro included a bar, film screenings
and a photographic exhibition.
‘‘Retail needs energy,’’ said Alannah
Weston, Selfridges’s creative director.
‘‘This idea comes from having chefs in
food stores. It brings the theater to life.
When a crowd builds, it adds to the ex-
citement. People feel intimidated shop-
ping alone.’’
It’s a symbiotic relationship. The
small brand gets visibility while the de-
partment store is differentiated from
its competitors. Grand of Pop Maga-
zine said: ‘‘As a fashion magazine, we
have unique access to designers. It’s
good for Dover Street Market for me to
get all those brands in. Plus, I love hav-
ing a shop, but I wouldn’t want the full-
time responsibility. This is the coolest
thing we could do.’’
The rise of these shops is a reaction
to the homogeneity of the mainstream
stores and the increasing domination
of online retail. ‘‘A shop-in-shop creates
a destination in a very crowded envir-
onment,’’ said Raoul Shah, managing
director of Exposure, the communica-
tions consultancy behind Levis, Umbro
and Sony PSP, all of which have appro-
priated the format. ‘‘Experience is all-
important. The more boring shopping
becomes, the easier it is to go online.’’
One strategy keeping consumers on
their toes and cash in the tills is the
‘‘pop-up’’ shop — those that open to
great fanfare only to close down a
month or so later, a strategy adopted by
Selfridges, among others. ‘‘If you try to
sustain the intensity for too long, it
fails,’’ Weston said. ‘‘You’ve got to do it
in short sharp bursts.’’
Another area to exploit, Shah said, is
unexpected environments — Star-
bucks’s growing occupation of book-
stores, for example. What’s next? Cars?
Check. São Paolo’s ‘‘castle to consumer-
ism,’’ the Daslu department store, has
Mitsubishi and Volvo showrooms
scattered among its 120 designer fash-
ion shop-in-shops — perfect for coordi- collaboration is badly executed, both
nating cars and clothes. brands could be damaged.
But with increased competition for ‘‘If a more corporate company ap-
brands to stand out as destinations, is proaches you, it’s inevitably for your
the retail landscape in danger of re- kudos,’’ said Murphy of B Store. ‘‘If you
sembling a fairground? repeat exactly what you’ve done in
‘‘It’s all about a balance of pace,’’ your own environment, you only sell
Weston said. ‘‘A great night club has a yourself down the river.’’
chill-out area, a bar and a dance floor Authenticity is critical. ‘‘Bringing in
with thumping bass. Next year we’re a couple of flat-screen TVs and a gam-
planning more peaceful things at Sel- ing machine isn’t enough,’’ said Shah,
fridges, such as art installations, read- the consultant. ‘‘There must be a com- department stores from being bullied.
ing rooms and classical concerts.’’ mon thread that runs from the brand’s ‘‘Otherwise,’’ he said, ‘‘the fashion world
But selling out is a danger for these DNA right through to the environment. may end up looking like Disneyland.”
small brands. The small brand is If it looks like it’s trying too hard then it International Herald Tribune
tempted to accept the big store’s finan- will either be found out or ignored.’’
cial incentives; the department stores But retailers have the hardest job, Fleur Britten is commissioning editor
in turn are eager to profit from the Shah said. They have to keep the smal- in London for the Sunday Times Style
smaller brand’s niche credibility. If the ler brands from being eclipsed and the Maga zine.
Dicken Bowden (Pop Shop); Tom Oldham (Umbro’s)
Styles by Miu Miu, Luella Bartley and Donna Karan are displayed on f luorescent toadstools at the Pop Shop, Dover Street Market
in London; Umbro’s Football Fever, above, another ‘‘shop-in-shop’’ at Selfridges, which was assembled for the World Cup in June.