Recent Blog Posts
-
Morning Hemlines: Mervyn's, Fred Leighton, Imitation of Christ, Holidays, Luxury Ads, Vintage
Nov 24 200810:19 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Steve & Barry's, Limited, Barneys, Marc Jacobs, Hicks, Pilati
Nov 20 20089:24 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Saks, Woolworths, Project Runay, Consumer Prices
Nov 19 200810:21 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Wintour, Saks, Burberry, Steve & Barry's, Carrefour, Claiborne, Wang
Nov 18 20089:58 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Penney, A&F. J. Crew, Tom Ford, Brioni, Luxury
Nov 17 20089:46 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Macy's, Benetton, Richemont, Nordstrom, John Lewis, Alexander
Nov 14 20089:36 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Tod's, Discounters, Urban Outfitters, Interview Suit
Nov 13 200810:50 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Macy's, Geen. General Growth, Beijing, Versace
Nov 12 200810:02 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Claiborne, SJP, Fortunoff, Boutiques
Nov 11 200811:00 am EDT -
Morning Hemlines: Asprey, Marc Jacobs, H&M
Nov 10 200810:21 am EDT
Links
- Fashion Wire Daily
- The Business of Fashion
- Fashion Week Daily
- Fashionista
- The Fug Girls
- Refinery 29
- Denimology
- Red Carpet Style Awards
- BuzzFeed on Style
- Dezeen
- New York Times Fashion and Style
- Decades
- Net-A-Porter
- Federation Francaise de la Couture
- Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana
- Fashionologie
- SheFinds
- Coutorture
- The Sartorialist
- Style.com
- Racked
Fashion Week: Vera Wang Pre-Shop
Vera Wang's clothes are selling well for retailer Kelly Cole--so well, he's not waiting until her runway show tomorrow to start ordering for next spring.
Cole, the president of Halls, which has two stores in Kansas City, Missouri, headed to the designer's garment district showroom early this morning with his two-person buying and merchandising team to begin figuring out what to order from Wang's diffusion line, Lavender Label. He liked the tops and pretty skirts.
During Fashion Week, media attention focuses on the tents. But for executives from stores like Halls, a subsidiary of Hallmark, Fashion Week is a mix of a dozen shows and "market appointments" in the gritty garment center. The calendar of appointments ramps up further next week as Hall and his team review their notes and photos, and decide where to put about 70 percent of the dollars in his budget for next spring. For hot brands like Tory Burch, also a big hit in his store, Cole will have to leave a firm order.
Cole is a retail veteran, the former general manager of Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills who joined Halls six months ago. Fashion Week is a chance for him to make sure he locks up the right looks for his shoppers, including many women, aged from the late 20s to mid-50s, who want to look fashionable without aping their daughters' style.
Despite the weak economy, Halls is managing to post sales gains in the mid-single-digit percentages, partly because of a new customer outreach program Cole initiated.
"Something as simple as calling a customer with great service, in this market makes a big difference," Cole said.
By Catherine Curan
More on Fashion Week from Portfolio.com:
S'Not Apple
Mac and Say Cheese at Doucette Duvall
Patrick Rises on a Green Tide
Fashion Week Exclusive: Bergdorf's May Get "Posh"
Slow Payments Pinching Small Designers
All Fur Naught
The Offstage Pass
Banking on Buys
Where's Fashion Going? GPS Knows.
Does Colette Bridge the Gap?
How to Freak People Out at Fashion Week
Bleak Chic
Cutting Corners
The Runway Race for Retail
Making Model Moms
