Are Department Stores Headed For The Dustbin Of Retail History?
LatestEmbed was removed for legal reasons
Some large retailers believe we may be glimpsing the end of the “big box” store. RIP, big box store, 1980s-2010s: now the we can all find limitless selection online, the point of having a poorly organized 200,000 square foot warehouse of a shop populated by underpaid, overworked, constitutionally unhelpful polo-shirted drones is rather moot, and with more people living in urban centers (where real estate is more expensive), a denser pattern of development make more sense. J.C. Penney just opened a smaller store in Daly City, California, and is rolling out more stores in the 50,000-60,000 square foot range. Wal-Mart has started opening 15,000 square foot Wal-Mart Express stores, and Target has its smaller CityTargets. Sears and Best Buy are among the chains that are apparently considering subleasing parts of their existing enormous stores in order to reduce their own area. Most of these “smaller” stores are still comparatively quite large, but they’re not three-football-fields, pallets-to-the-ceiling, hyperventilation-in-aisle-117b large. And, according to Women’s Wear Daily and the retail analysts it interviewed for this piece, there’s “a new kind of consumer animal” running rampant in the city: WOOFs, or well-off old folks. “They are empty nesters in their 50s and beyond who have moved out of the suburbs and taken to the bright lights of the city for their twilight years.” [WWD]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
Liv Tyler is in a Givenchy makeup ad. [DS]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
Candice Swanepoel — who’s been known more for her Victoria’s Secret contract than her high-fashion work as of late — booked the Tom Ford fall campaign. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot it. [WWD]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
Crystal Renn shows off vintage-inspired fashions in this Mark Seliger spread from the new Vogue Spain. [FGR]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
This photo of Edita Vilkeviciute is included in a Mario Testino show currently open in Rome. [Vogue]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
Kinga Rajzak is almost unrecognizable, in a beautiful way, in this editorial from Björk’s guest-edited issue of Dazed & Confused. [FGR]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
Kate Spade and L.A. denim brand Current/Elliott are collaborating on a line of handbags. They will retail for $245-$1295. [WWD]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
M.I.A.‘s eldest sister is a jewelry designer whose latest collection is intended to resemble gunshot wounds, machete slashes, and machine-gun spray. The pieces are all done in gold and precious stones. [Refinery29]
Embed was removed for legal reasons
Two words: Zombie bikinis. [WOW]
- Now that the tabloids have shot their wad with the Kate Moss Is Getting Married story, we expect the main Moss storylines to be Kate Moss Wants A(nother) Baby and Kate Moss’s Marriage Is In Trouble. This article is the former. [CM]
- Here’s another shot of Kate Moss and Jamie Hince yachting off Corsica for their honeymoon. [Vogue UK]
- “I copy the dress of an animal because I love to copy God. I think God is the most fantastic designer.” Roberto Cavalli finally explains the whole animal-print thing. [Elle]
- Miranda Kerr says that spending 27 hours in labor with a massive 10lb baby and no pain medication made her think she was “going to die.” Go figure. [DS]
- Karlie Kloss and Joe Jonas might be dating. Evidence? They hung out together at a polo match, goofed off in an event sponsor’s photo booth, and were “chatting it up” in the stands. [People]
- Cathy Horyn loved Azzedine Alaïa‘s show last week in Paris. (He has long been one of her favorite designers.) She reports that after the runway presentation concluded, “About 40 people stuck around for lunch in the kitchen, with the designer bringing plates of chicken and rice to the table.” [On The Runway]
- Balenciaga is launching its new web site this week. It will allow e-commerce for customers located in the U.S., U.K., and France. Balenciaga also “wrested control” of a fan-run Facebook page (hope they thanked the guy well — he’d gotten Balenciaga over 250,000 “likes”). Creative director Nicholas Ghesquière, meanwhile, says he mostly goes online to YouTube archival footage of Cristóbal Balenciaga and his creations. That’s a rabbit hole we love to fall down: our faves are this one, this one, and that one. [WWD]
- Ivanka Trump is moving her New York jewelry store to SoHo. [P6]
- Gaspard Ulliel had reservations when Chanel first approached him about being the face of a men’s fragrance. “Chanel is the greatest fashion house in France, but I was hesitant when they first asked me,” he said. “I thought it could be risky for me to do fashion campaign. I’m not like Brad Pitt or Gerard Depardieu, who already have established themselves as actors — I’m just starting. I didn’t want to be known as a Chanel model, over an actor.” Ulliel stars in La Princesse de Montpensier, an adaptation of the Madame de La Fayette novel. [Vogue UK]
- Camilla Al Fayed, the daughter of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, has bought a 51% stake in Issa, the fashion label founded by Brazilian designer Daniella Issa Helayel. Issa came to prominence after Kate Middleton wore its navy-blue draped jersey dress in one of her official engagement photos. Helayel will remain as creative director, and will continue to own 49% of the company she founded. [WWD]
- Sonia Rykiel has hired an investment bank to investigate the possibility of selling a minority stake in the family-owned business in order to fund its expansion. [WWD]