Amid all the complaints about the state of NYFW: The Shows (NYFWS), the CFDA is making a serious attempt to possibly revamp NYFW with the help of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). BCG has been employed to conduct a study that looks at changes that need to happen to NYFWS and save it from all the dross and its possible demise.
“Designers, retailers and editors have been questioning the relevance of fashion week in its current format for some time,” said Steven Kolb, President and CEO of the CFDA in a fashionmag.com article. “Out of this industry need came our decision to hire Boston Consulting Group to create an in-depth analysis and roadmap for the future of fashion shows.”
Revamping a broken system is a great sentiment, but at closer examination this revamp may hinge on repositioning this industry institution’s—NYFWS—ability to open up the shows to consumers and charge admission to the public. And the BCG may be the company that shows the potential profit margin behind this revamp.
Hmm, revamp indeed!!
Kerry Washington expands beyond “Scandal”
If being the star of “Scandal” is not enough, Kerry Washington has been pegged as OPI’s first creative ambassador. OPI co-founder, Suzi Weiss_Fischmann, have been working together since April 2015 to develop Washington’s role with the cosmetic brand.
Kerry Washington will assist Weiss-Fischman in co-curating all the new shade names and nail lacquer shades. OPI, a division of Coty, is sold in over 100 countries.
Bigotry at McQueen store
Two employees of Alexander McQueen have sued to British brand and its holding company, Keurig, for racial discrimination.
According to several news sources, Christopher Policard and Duane Davis, who worked at the Alexander McQueen store on Madison Avenue claim that the company “systematically rejects African-American job applicants who seek positions on the sales floor where they can be seen by customers or positions where they might have authority over white employees, relegating the few African-Americans who are hired to menial positions behind the scenes.” Policard and Davis also contend that they have been falsely accused of theft by management and searched in front of staff and consumers, while white employees accused of theft are always searched in private after store hours.
A McQueen representative told Fashionista, “We (Alexander McQueen and Kering) take these allegations very seriously and are investigating, however, we don’t comment on current litigations.” The British brand has previously had two other racial discrimination lawsuits.
Hard times for Prada
On Tuesday, Prada reported a 37% decline in profits for the third quarter. The fall in profits has been attributed to fewer sales in the Asian luxury markets and Asian consumers looking for new shopping destinations due to the drop in the Chinese yuan. “The devaluation of the renminbi recorded between August and September had a negative impact on the purchases made by the Chinese travellers,” Prada said in a statement published in fashionmag.com.
Net income fell to 46.48 million euros ($51.12 million) for the three months ended Oct. 31, from 74.47 millioKen euros a year earlier, and 129.8 million euros in the second-quarter. That was lower than an analyst forecast of 77.83 million euros, according to Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate. Net revenue fell 5.3 percent, while sales of higher-margin leather goods dropped 11.6 percent.
Abboud returns
Joseph Abboud is returning to New York Fashion Week. Abboud is expected to show his men’s fall 2016 collection during New York Fashion: Men’s (NYFWM) as the opening show. The last time Abboud had a full runway show during NYFW was 15 years ago.
“With the continuous growth and focus in the US of the men’s market, I feel that this is the ideal moment to return to the runway during New York Fashion Week: Men’s. The CFDA has created this herculean momentum around the American menswear industry and I am happy to be involved in this ever-growing and evolving week of men’s fashion,” expressed Abboud.
For NYFWM, Abboud is collaborating with 6 other brands that manufacture and produce in the United States: bags by Rawlings, hats by Albertus Swanepoel, ties by Barbara Blank, watches by Kobold, shearling outwear by Aston Leathers and footwear by Allen Edmonds. Joseph Abboud launched his brand in 1987.
—William S. Gooch
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