STORES LAUD TAX-CUT PLAN/3 JUICYS NEW PAD/10

Womens Wear Daily The Retailers Daily Newspaper January 18, 2007 $2.00

WWDTHURSDAY
Sportswear

: t ide is ons Ins . 16 DL inati Pg W Dest l eW ave Th .S. Tr U Top

Sitting Pretty
Primping aint easy, but designers are doing their part this season with an assortment of frothy numbers with a retro feel. Here, Favianas polyester charmeuse dress, worn with a 1928 Jewelry necklace and Steve Madden shoes, photographed at Rita Hazan Salon in New York. For more prom looks, see pages 6 and 7.
PHOTO BY GEORGE CHINSEE; MODEL: CARLY/NEW YORK; HAIR BY NELSON VERCHER AND MAKEUP BY RAMY GAFNI, BOTH AT RITA HAZAN SALON; FASHION ASSISTANT: JULIA COLLIER; SYLED BY DAVID YASSKY

Next Step for Jones: Group Is Said Mulling Possibility of Breakup

By Vicki M. Young

NEW YORK After an aborted auction of the entire company last year, Jones Apparel Group may be contemplating plan B: a breakup. Financial and industry sources said tentative feelers have been extended to various parties regarding their interest in the Nine West group and the upscale specialty chain Barneys New York. Jones chief financial officer Efthimio Sotos declined comment Wednesday. No bank appears to have been appointed to advise the company on any possible breakup. Should Jones be successful in breaking
See Jones, Page 15

10

WWD, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007

WWD.COM

The Beat

Dresses Top Sellers At ENKs Intermezzo

NEW YORK Summer was in the air at the three-day Intermezzo trade show here. ENK Internationals January edition at the Show Piers was busy with buyers who were on the hunt for fresh looks to complete their summer selling season. While retailers said they were able to nd things, reviews on the show were mixed. It was very interesting to see the new collections, a bit of everything soft and feminine, said Juan Justicia, a buyer for Lounge, a contemporary- and denim-based specialty store here. There was a lot of rock n roll and bohemian with both bright and muted colors. Justicia said that, overall, he felt that everyone seemed excited about the summer season. Other buyers felt differently. I wish the market would move away from the baby-doll look, which is rather limiting in that it appeals to a narrow segment of the market, said Rick Weinstein, director of sales and marketing at Searle, which operates eight stores. Fashion-conscious customers will always be comfortable and interested in being right on fashion. Those on the fringes, especially if theyve worn it before and are a little older, tend to be gun-shy to repeat looks like this. That said, Weinstein added he did like that some dresses, a best-selling category at his stores, are evolving into newer looks like shifts and minidresses in more structured fabrics. Erin Crandall, head buyer for contemporary retailer Shopbop. com, agreed the fashion was disappointing. I didnt think the show looked that great, she said. The best things Ive seen are from Diane von Furstenberg their pre-fall looks are amazing, and its a true fall-transition delivery and Alice + Olivias summer [line] also looks great. Crandall said she also liked the great wardrobe staples from Vince. The dresses are great, and there are cotton cashmere pieces that are perfect for transition, she said. On the exhibitor side, vendors seemed happy with their orders. At Lilla P., a New York-based better sportswear rm known best for its pima cotton T-shirts, owner Pauline Nakios was doing well with knit dresses in neutral tones. Im booking a lot of color in the tank tops, but everything else is pretty neutral, she said. Our dresses are doing very well, people are really loving the t. The Lilla P. collection wholesales from $16 to $54. At the Ranahan Jeans booth, the Los Angeles-based company did well with its slim-t and trouser jeans styles. People are loving the signature lipstick pocket, said Ashley Boer, a sales representative for the brand, pointing out a small, slim interior pocket near the leg opening. Its A best-selling wrap dress great since its hidden and you dont from Lilla P summer line. .s get the bulge in your pocket. Ranahan, which has been in business for a year, was started by the sister team of Amy and Allison Gammon. Their father is James Gammon, a Western movie star. Having lived a lot of their young lives on the sets of Western icks, the girls wanted to launch a line of jeans to reect their fathers work. The Ranahan line (which means ranch hand in cowboy-speak) wholesales from $79 to $84. At the Malibu, Calif.-based contemporary rm Grassroots, sales representative Denise Hopkins said a viscose raglan sleeve tunic was booking well, as were the basket-weave tops and cotton V-neck crochet dresses. She said that colors like peach, blue and white were selling well. The Grassroots line wholesales from $17 to $52. Helen Wang, which is housed at the Jeffrey Schwager showroom here, was also at the show with a huge selection of summer dresses. We have been doing very well with a variety of styles, said Mandi Dorbin, sales representative at Jeffrey Schwager. Baby dolls are doing well as are the striped halters. Dorbin pointed out a cotton shear silver leaf tunic, silk deep-Vneck baby-doll dress and an embroidered linen dress as some of the best-booking pieces from Helen Wang. The line wholesales from $120 to $180. Dorbin was also showing off Chace, a new contemporary line based here. There were linen laser-cut-out jackets and dresses, metallic linen coats and woven striped mens wear-inspired shirtdresses. The Chace line was also booking well with pointelle sweaters and silk charmeuse and lace cocktail dresses. I really feel strongly about the high-waisted pants and skirts, said Marianne Chace Weber, owner and designer of the collection, pointing to a black silk skirt. I think its something thats going to catch on after all of these low-waisted styles. The Chace collection wholesales from $110 to $210. At press time, ENK could not conrm the number of exhibitors or retailers who attended the show, which closed Jan. 11.

PHOTOS BY JOHN AQUINO

The customer is greeted on the lower level with a large assortment of womens apparel.

Juicys New Village Hangout

By Julee Greenberg
NEW YORK Juicy Couture just keeps thinking bigger when it comes to Manhattan. The fashion brand, owned by Liz Claiborne Inc., will open a store on Friday here at 368 Bleecker Street, which will be its third, and biggest, New York location. The store, with 3,500 square feet of selling space, houses the entire Juicy assortment, from womens apparel and accessories, the Couture Couture high-end collection, mens wear and childrens wear to pet apparel and accessories. The new agship will be the rst to house the new baby line, Juicy Baby, when it debuts for spring as well as the Couture Couture jewelry line when it launches this summer. The agship also stands as only the second location to carry the brands mens wear. The San Francisco store was the rst location to have it. The space, in a former club, is 7,500 square feet in total and is spread out over two levels, with the street level showing off accessories and Couture Couture. There is a winding staircase that takes customers to the larger lower level, where the world of Juicy is truly displayed. We love the location of our Bleecker shop. Its on two levels, so our customer can wander through the world of Juicy with each room having its own intimate feeling, said co-founder Pamela Skaist-Levy. Its right in the heart of the West Village, [which is] so charming. We love all of our neighbors: Marc Jacobs,

The accessories area is located on the upper level. Inset: Kitschy nds decorate the Juicy store.
antique shops, the Magnolia Bakery we just love those cupcakes. The lower level is broken down into three rooms, each with its own cash register and set of dressing rooms. The idea, according to Skaist-Levy and her partner, Gela Nash-Taylor, is to have each room feel like a boutique on its own. The womens apparel room is the largest area and houses the entire sportswear assortment, with plenty of kitschy decorations throughout, such as candy jars and a jumbo birdcage, which can also be seen in the companys Madison Avenue location. In the mens area, there is a billiard table stacked with piles of clothes. The childrens room has tiny furniture for easy lounging and lower racks and shelves for easy tot access. The partners declined to reveal rst-year sales expectations. The new location, which brings Juicys freestanding store count to 20, is the brands rst opening in 2007, with about 15 more stores expected to open in the U.S. this year. The company next will open a store in Milan on Feb. 15. In September, the 5,000square-foot Juicy Couture world agship will open on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Each of our Juicy customers has their own sense of style, Nash-Taylor said. Uptown, downtown, Milan, Malibu, Tokyo its about personal style and having fun.

The Juicy Kids area is made to be kid friendly with small furniture and low shelves.

J.G.