THIERRY MUGLER ANGEL LIQUEUR DE PARFUM: Like bobbing for fruitchoulis in a vat of vintage port. Massive, tenacious and perversely yummy in a "Help! My perfume is stalking me!" kind of way. I happily steeped in its sweet, cherry-wood and booze infused fumes all day.
Robin at Now Smell This writes: "It's recognizably Angel from the outset, but the early stages especially are smoother, less jarring, and I cannot emphasize enough how boozy it is . . . I want to drink it as much as I want to smell it."
But really, this stuff is huge. Two sprays is more than plenty, and I'm a spray junkie.
***Note: Some kind of clanging siren in my head keeps warning me away from the original Angel, but I do enjoy its gourmand-heavy iterations (my only other encouter with Angel has been Angel Men Pure Coffee, which I guiltily love for its caramel, java and rich chocolately charms). But I do have some vials of Angel and Angel parfum sealed in little plastic baggies and awaiting a brave day . . .
CARTIER LA TREIZIEME HEURE XIII: A hauntingly lovely smoke fragrance that, if you're a fan of the smoke genre, is pretty near impossible not to like.
Its composition is note perfect (bergamot, vanilla, leather, toasted yerba maté aka "chá mate", and narcissus absolute, its credentials impeccable (the House of Cartier + perfumer Mathilde Laurent) and its demographic aim (the 25-45 year old luxury consumer) couldn't be truer.
Denyse at Grain de Musc writes: "Mathilde has pinned her carousel of smoky-burnt notes onto the dazzlingly complex scent of Monique Rémy's narcissus absolute. Like coumarin, narcissus absolute presents tobacco-hay facets, along with a 'horsy' aroma; but it also gives off an aqueous green smell that gives the smoky Treizième Heure an oddly icy heart."
My one complaint is that, because it's positioned as part of an "exclusive" collection (Les Heures de Cartier), it's more difficult to find and purchase than it really needs to be. Maybe that will change in the near future.
Hey, Chanel changed its mind about limiting access to the Les Exclusifs collection, right?
XERJOFF XJ 17/17 COLLECTION - HOMME: I wanted to enjoy this (if only because the packaging options are bee-you-tee-full!), but for the first half of its evolution it smells so much like Nasomatto Duro (a weird and -- IMO -- unattractive mix of gasoline and chlorine) that I'm going to have to pass.
The second half of its considerable lifespan (i.e. the stuff lasts all day) is much more pleasant -- a luxe patchouli + oiled leather scent -- but not so distinctive or wowzy that I'm willing to fork over $800 to $2,200 (U.S.) for the privilege. Duro lovers, however, should take note.
But oh! that bottle: "Each flacon has either been meticulously crafted by hand from a single block of quartz; or has had master Murano glassmakers breathe life into them, straight from the raging kiln. Each hand-numbered edition is presented on a hand-carved ebony base and is embossed with 18kt gold and decorated with rubies."
One might be forgiven for thinking that what's inside the bottle really isn't the point.
XERJOFF SHOOTING STARS COLLECTION - KOBE: A limited edition release from the Xerjoff Shooting Stars Collection (though I have no idea what "limited edition" means in this case, and the Xerjoff website is mum on the point; I have an email in to a company rep asking for clarification, so I'll update this post when/if I get any answers), Kobe is the Xerjoff entry in the present oud-trend sweepstakes.
At first, I was, like, "Great, what the world needs now is another oud, sweet oud", but the cynicism was quickly wiped from brow by how good the darn stuff smells. Dry, spicy, a little rosy but not overly floral whatsoever, and there's a wonderfully polished balsamic layer to the piece that makes it gleam.
The website states that Kobe is a blend of essences including Calabrese bergamot, Florida orange, Italian neroli, Paraguayan petitgrain, rose woods and balsamic resins, with oud as the core element holding it all together. I could swear there's a mouthwatering vanilla hovering far off in the background, too, but I'm not certain.
I just know that I'll take more, please!
Longevity is excellent (which is the case with each of the three Xerjoff's I tested), the oud fades and the vanilla becomes more pronounced as the day wears on, while the bottle is, of course, stunning.
What the world needs now is oud, sweet oud
XERJOFF SHOOTING STARS COLLECTION - UDEN: The final Xerjoff for the day, and a respectable piece of ambered woods with a beautifully smooth drydown that feels like walking into a gentleman's club decorated in a leather, hardwoods and gleaming brass motif . . . in Dubai.
I like it a lot better than 17/17 Homme (though not nearly so much as the Shooting Stars Kobe), but testing the Xerjoff brand is reminding me of Clive Christian -- quality materials and excellently blended compositions, but with the main focus on high-end packaging that jacks the prices up to nose-bleed luxury levels.
Neither brand breaks any new ground as far as originality is concerned, but both are excellently positioned within their genres, and both smell (and look) like money. The Xerjoff packaging beats Clive Christian with a stick, however. Seriously. It's the difference between stiff upper lip British and exotic, opulent Mediterranean.
The saving grace for both Clive Christian and Xerjoff is that the price tags for both brands make it unlikely that you'll bump into anyone else on your block wearing the same thing (unless, of course, your block is situated along the likes of Central Park West).
***Note 2: This is a prime example of what's considered manufactured exclusivity.
But if you're not shy about whipping out the credit card and you're in the market for a quality fragrance, yet have zero inclination in potentially radiating the same olfactory aura as that indie hipster who flipped you off when you double-parked outside the Magnolia Bakery last Sunday, then the Xerjoff collections are certainly worth a look.
The Xerjoff brand can be found at First In Fragrance out of Germany, and they (gladly and happily) ship internationally, which is how I got these samples in the first place.
1.) Celebrities + Fashion Shows = Dirty Little Secret:
"Backstage at Armani Prive that night, I chatted with Anne Hathaway about the exquisite collection of pink corseted dresses dusted with stardust we had just seen, every one of which will surely be fought over at the Oscars. I asked her which shows she had enjoyed so far, and was she looking forward to Chanel the next day? Anxiety flickered across those lovely eyes. 'Oh no. I'm not going to see anything else. I'm only allowed to be at Armani. I'm wearing Armani, by the way. Isn't it lovely?' And there you have it. While the marriage of movie stars and fashion designers seems all lovey-dovey, sealed with an air kiss, it is, of course, all about money."
Video clip below of the Armani Prive Spring 2010 show (at which Anne Hathaway was paid to sit):
"Though she looks as warm as gold, the moon's a harsh mistress, she can be so cold"
*Note: Lady Gaga upped the popular exposure to Giorgio Armani's haute couture line by magnitudes when she sported five (five!) different Armani Privé ensembles at various times during the 2010 Grammy Awards. The financial relationship between Gaga and Armani has not been disclosed, and members of the fashion press, if not just the press in general, never thought to ask, despite Gaga being arguably one of the most talked-about pop-music celebrities of the moment.
A post-Grammy interview below with Gaga in Armani Privé :
Another report at Zimbio (How Much Would You Pay to Seat Rihanna or Beyoncé in Your Front Row?) zeroes in on the same topic, revealing that hot, of the moment pop stars and Hollywood celebs aren't sitting front row at numerous shows during the various global fashion weeks because they adore the clothes (though who wouldn't, when you get the pick of the litter for free?), but because they're getting paid beaucoup bucks to show up and flash their famous mugs for the paparazzi, which in turn, generates free fashion/gossip magazine coverage, breathless celebrity/fashion blog posts and an echo chamber of tweets.
Zimbio reveals that pop-star Rihanna allegedly pulls in $100,000.00 per appearance, and when you stop to consider that she sprints from show to show to show (in the latest 5" heels, of course), she might easily bank half a million dollars from one fashion week alone.
Beyonce is said to be in second place with around an $80K haul per show, with other celebrities sliding down the scale according to that week's (month's? year's?) popularity chart. Which is why you'll recall that last year's shows featured a significant pullback on the celebrity factor as cash-strapped fashion houses axed their budgets for famous face exposure (Marc Jacobs supposedly cut his usual unwieldy guest list from 1800 to 700).
Jean Paul Gaultier had this to say about the new financial relationship between fashion and celebrities: "'When I first started out, Hollywood stars came and tried on the dresses and had many fittings. Now they expect the dresses for free. I hear some designers even pay them to wear their clothes. It is 'opeless.'"
*Fun Factoid: The above Telegraph article states that "four bottles of (Jean Paul Gaultier) Classique (perfume) are sold every minute worldwide." So while couture may be in decline, the house of Gaultier isn't in danger of going out of business anytime soon.
Speaking of fragrance and the bottom line, celebrity and designer fragrance producer Parlux just witnessed a corporate shake-up, its CEO stepping down to be replaced by the man who founded the company in the first place.
Just last month, the now booted CEO was predicting an optimistic earnings report for Parlux, but the actual numbers came out much worse as "larger than expected product returns from U.S. department store customers have reduced the Company's net sales for the third quarter."
Parlux has also suffered from the loss of their profitable relationship with the Guess? brand due to a rumored breach of contract, and Kanye West, a celebrity that Parlux signed on to potentially license, poisoned his reputation so badly that no one wants his name on a fragrance bottle. Ever. A definite blow to Parlux.
2.) Versace Announces Job Cuts:
"Luxury Italian label Versace is closing in on an agreement to cut 350 of its 1,360 positions worldwide, equating to more than 25 percent of its workforce . . . Furthermore, Versace is introducing a new lower-priced womenswear collection as part of the arrangements. The new line, priced between 400 euros and 1,000 euros, will be the women's ready-to-wear complement to Versace's lower-priced men's line."
The Wall Street Journal published an article last week about the troubles in Versace Land, and how head designer Donatella Versace's drug addiction in the late 1990's through the early 2000's nearly brought the company down, its lasting effects still felt as the House of Versace struggles to keep afloat (it lost over $20 million last year) while its Italian peers have passed it by. The WSJ notes that Versace is "just a sixth the size of Giorgio Armani SpA, and one-twentieth the size of LVMH's fashion division alone."
In summary: the road to growth and profitability is not a boss that snorts the profits up her nose. Just so you know.
That said, the latest Versace menswear show in Milan was favorably received by the critics (who were fairly unanimous in declaring that Versace was returning to its aggressively sexy roots), and the Versace family appears determined to do what's necessary to keep their business from collapsing into bankruptcy -- tweaking collections, laying off workers, closing up operations in once-again frugal Japan, etc. Video clip below of the Milan Fall/Winter 2010/2011 menswear show:
Related news: number one luxury conglomerate LVMH reported a 13% drop in profit for 2009: "LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's largest maker of luxury goods, said full-year profit fell 13% as demand for watches and champagne declined in the recession."
The bright spot? Perfume sales rose 2%, and sales of jewelry picked back up for the winter holiday season (though they were down for the year overall). LVMH stated that it's experiencing strong growth in Asia (excluding Japan, where profits fell 18%), but that it expects all of 2010 to be flat as far as revenue and growth projections.
Luxury rival Hermes had a better fourth quarter than LVMH, reporting an 8.5% rise in total revenue, though its watch division performed the poorest with a 13% drop in sales. However, "sales of leather handbags and accessories, the main source of revenue, rose 14% during the fourth quarter, boosted by strong Asian demand. Revenue from silk ties and scarves jumped 16%, while apparel sales increased 7.9%, Hermes said."
Video below of the Hermes menswear collection for Fall/Winter 2010/2011 -- quite a contrast to the flash and splash of Versace, and perhaps an indication of why Hermes is continuing to grow while Versace flounders (LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault went so far as to say that "bling is out"):
Bling is no longer king
British luxury brand Burberry had a bang-up fourth quarter, reporting a 15% rise in sales; German line Hugo Boss continues to struggle due to disproportionately high exposure to financially strapped U.S. and European markets; and American stalwart Ralph Lauren reported end of the year profits (a 6% increase from the same quarter last year), but stated that it will be aggressively expanding into China throughout 2010, which will cut into profit reports ahead.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Swiss watch industry as a whole is faring poorly, with sales falling even in the crucial November and December months, though exports to the increasingly important Chinese market are increasing. Exports to Asia are expected to account for about 30% of the Swiss watch business in 2010.
3.) Abercrombie & Fitch Gets It All Wrong in Japan:
"At the moment, Japan is in the midst of a low-price fashion boom. The only profitable brands are chain retailers like Uniqlo, H&M and Forever21, and the cheap domestic labels in the Shibuya109 shopping building. Yet remarkably, Abercrombie & Fitch made the decision to charge Japanese consumers nearly double its American prices . . . (and) their new Ginza store, in particular, clashes with Japanese fashion and shopping culture in almost every possible way."
Last week, I linked to an article about how Mattel had botched its marketing for the Barbie Doll in China (Where Barbie Went Wrong in China) by not adapting the look and message to the Chinese consumer. It appears that Abercrombie & Fitch has done the same thing in Japan, crash-landing its entire Western consumer oriented look, feel and message smack into the middle of Tokyo -- and it's not working (surprise, surprise).
I don't know about you, but it's beyond comprehension that a brand would spend so much time and money expanding into a new international market, yet completely disregard that it might need to tailor its approach to the locals. One of A&F's biggest faux pas (well, besides the shirtless male models and speaking only in English, I mean)? They spray their powerful Abercrombie & Fitch cologne all through the store every morning, dousing the mannequins and jeans, which runs counter to the cultural-wide dislike for pervasive perfumes.
Two word summation: Epic fail.
In light of the above, it's no wonder that Abercrombie & Fitch is falling behind its competitors, such as American Eagle and Aeropostale, though A&F did manage to post a profit for January of 2010, finally putting a halt to the drastic declines of 2008 and 2009.
4.) Consumers Opt for Quality Over the Logo:
"Part of the appeal of custom culture is that it taps into the connoisseurship and one-upmanship that has long been central to guy culture. But whereas this was once the province of a certain tax bracket and its implicit fixations -- Savile Row suits, golf clubs, cigars and single-malt Scotch -- it now includes youthful fetishes with the coolest surfboards, sneakers and skateboards . . . Moreover, a custom-made item is often cheaper than a designer version. A big, beautiful long board, custom-made by a talented shaper in great 1960s colors, is $1,250 through Mollusk Surf Shop in Brooklyn. The SoHo boutique Kirna Zabête sells a limited-edition Proenza Schouler surfboard for $2,995. Which would you rather show up with at the pipeline?"
I experienced the same kind of shocked price reaction when I talked to a made-to-measure tailor here in Seattle. A fully custom dress shirt in a superfine, Italian cotton, made beautifully and exactly to my measurements, would run about $150.00, where a cotton-spandex blend Prada dress shirt, made to fit a model with a body and shape that's nothing like mine, approaches $400.00. Does that make sense in any kind of reality?
To their credit, luxury brands are noticing that consumers are waking up to the fact that their prices don't necessarily correspond with the quality of the work on offer, and that these customers can now find better for less.
Hence, the emergence of the "heritage" theme, and you're going to start seeing this a lot -- with established brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Prada emphasizing their history and reaching back into their design archives to produce items that look and feel like the products that made the brands famous in the first place.
Women's Wear Daily reports that Gucci and Hermes are sponsoring equestrian events again to draw attention to their history as leather craftsmen for European royalty; Christian Dior is due to release a series of fragrances that are "refreshed" versions of several classics from the 1950's (replete with vintage advertising illustrations); and Louis Vuitton is releasing a line of "heritage" wallets that look like the wallets they used to make almost one hundred years ago.
This theme was also explored by Suzy Menkes when she wrote about the Milan menswear shows in January: Going Back to Their Roots.
Says Sebastian Suhl, Prada SpA's chief operating officer: "The shift back to heritage has been sped by the recession, but is moreover a 'correction' from a 'media-centric, celebrity-oriented, glossy approach' . . . The luxury category had been overselling the sizzle and forgetting about the steak."
Yeah, well, maybe they shouldn't have waited for the cattle to wander entirely off the ranch before they decided to do something about that.
5.) Bloomingdale's Opens Its First International Location in Dubai:
"The company's goal was to bring to Dubai what the 59th Street store in New York represented . . . But opening a Bloomingdale's in the UAE wasn't a simple matter of just opening New York-style cafés or stocking the store's iconic Brown Bags. It also meant securing the rights to sell much of the same merchandise as the US stores . . . 'Ralph Lauren is one of our largest resources in the store, but that took some doing because... Ralph Lauren in Dubai is actually distributed here by someone else,' said Michael Gould, CEO. "And so it took a great deal of effort to get the Ralph Lauren people to work with that [distributor] and say, 'Let them be in the store.'"
The Bloomingdale's CEO spends a lot of time emphasizing the importance of DNA, and how it wasn't merely a matter of plopping down a Bloomies in a Dubai mall, but about translating the NYC experience into a destination that would appeal to Dubai shoppers. Not an "If you build it, they will come" proposition (as we saw in Guangzhou, China with the huge but empty South China Mall), but more like "How can we build it so that it will appeal to the region's consumers for the long term? Because we don't want them to just come -- we want them to come back!"
Yet piggybacking on the news that designer-filled Bloomingdale's is opening in Dubai is the news that Dubai shoppers are downscaling their purchasing habits: "According to the Arabian Business Retail Trends Data, supplied by Dubai-based Datamonitor, the percentage of shoppers seeking out bargain brands rose by 12% to 49% of those polled. This represented the largest percentage of shoppers since Datamonitor began their monthly Recovery from Recession research in May."
So it looks like Bloomies is expanding internationally at just about the worst time they could have possibly imagined. All the wheeling and dealing took place years ago while the global economy, and especially Dubai, was skyrocketing, but now that times are different, it's really anybody's guess as to whether Bloomingdale's will connect with Dubai consumers and survive in the Dubai market.
6.) INDUSTRY QUICK HITS:
A.) In our "Watch the Scramble to Embrace the Low-End Dollar" department: Jimmy Choo bites the bullet and launches a sneaker/trainer line; sophisticated urban New York designer Narciso Rodriguez launches an eBay shop with items that top out at around $350.00; Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen design a mainstream (and wallet friendly) clothing range for JC Penney -- and JC Penney is pleased with the results; Everyman brand Levi's moves into the once super-trendy NYC Meatpacking District; and Zac Posen, former "it" designer for the young celebrity jet-set, swallows his pride, downscales his shows, produces a less-expensive diffusion line for Saks and creates a collection for Target.
B.) Chanel cosmetics fumbles the ball in Korea: "Chanel cosmetics will lose its dedicated space in the Lotte Department Store, Korea's largest department store chain. A spokesman for the retailer on Monday said the French cosmetics brand would shut its business in seven branches of Lotte on Jan. 29 . . . 'Chanel has the best spot in the store and its booth amounts to 1.5 times of the space of other brands,' the spokesman said. 'The problems is that it is too arrogant as the world's best and has failed to catch up with the changing trend among Korean consumers.'"
The article notes that Chanel was a top-seller in the department store chain until 2002, when consumer focus shifted away from color cosmetics to wrinkle creams and other anti-aging products. By 2007, Chanel was ranked in the bottom top ten sellers among beauty brands in the Korean chain -- yet one more example of a Western brand that doesn't pay enough attention to its local clientele.
In related news, here's a recent article that addresses the desire of the Asian consumer for skin care, especially skin whiteners and brighteners, over color products (which, really, should have been a no-brainer for Western brands if they were paying any attention at all to their international demographic) -- The Yearning for Whiter Skin: "Dark skin is associated with hard physical work, and the media are full of tips on how to look younger and whiter . . . the craving for white skin becomes stronger as Asian countries have more contact with foreign cultures and are economically better off. LeeJiHam Cosmetics CEO Kim Young-sun said, 'The yearning for white and flawless skin like Korean TV stars is very strong in Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Vietnam, where Korean TV dramas are popular. It's probably even stronger than in Korea.'"
A Bloomberg article from November 12th of 2009 talks about the boom of skin whitening products in India, as well: Fair-Skin Fashion Boosts Sales of Whitening Creams in India. And with India and China becoming the top emerging markets (China threatens to become the top market, period), beauty brands ignore definite consumer trends in these markets to their own detriment.
After all, the Korean story shows that even Chanel cannot succeed based on its name and logo alone. Again, it's not an "If you build it, they will come" story. Brands have to provide the items and service that the local consumer demands, and with cosmetics presently tallying 70% of retail sales in department stores in Korea, this is too big an issue to dismiss.
C.) New York Fashion Week to hold its last Bryant Park event: "This season is New York Fashion Week's last in the iconic white tents at midtown's Bryant Park . . . Nostalgic reflections from Anna Wintour, Patricia Field and many more will plaster the Bryant Park Tents for the grand farewell before next season's move to the Lincoln Center performing arts complex."
Video clip below of TimeOutNY going behind the scenes in Bryant Park for Fashion Week in 2008:
D.) Wedding gowns are the future of haute couture: "Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad seems confident that wedding dresses could save haute couture in the long run. 'Ready to Wear covers everything else,' Murad told Relaxnews in his Paris showroom during haute couture fashion week. 'You have outfits for your dinner, your cocktail, daytime. [...] But a haute couture dress that you'll hopefully only use once in a lifetime, that's our niche in the market.'"
When it comes to fragrance, I'm often a Road Less Traveled kind of guy. News of the latest Armani, Diesel or John Varvatos launch doesn't put a gleam in my eye, and James Franco can glower and pout all he wants, but Gucci aint prying the credit cards out of my wallet no time, no how.
Which is why Prada's L'Eau Ambrée was such a surprise when I first (literally) bumped into a shelf of it last August while visiting Bergdorf Goodman with a horde of the most devoted scent-heads you ever did see.
I was attempting to surreptitiously back my way out of the Creed sales area (Creed and I haven't been on speaking terms since I made the mistake of tangling with Green Irish Tweed a few years ago, but the sales assistant was so friendly and helpful that I didn't want to be rude) when I did a mild crash-bang into a wall display of the Prada L'Eau Ambrée, which had only just been released. In my best "I meant to do that!" manner, I grabbed the modernist gray and gold L'Eau Ambrée bottle from the glass shelf, plucked off its shiny cap and gave it a desultory sniff.
One word summation of the moment: KaPow!
My brain jerked sideways and I did an immediate double take at the transparent sense of green leaves underscored by soft woods and sweet sugars. I stared, blinking, at the bottle I held in my hand as if, at any moment, it might morph into an object that didn't have the word "Prada" emblazoned across its front.
I numbly replaced the bottle on its shelf and made a beeline for the By Kilian counter in order to wipe that burgeoning global fashion house fragrance smile from off my face, but almost six months later, I found myself still thinking about that unexpectedly pleasant encounter with Prada, which meant that it was time to explore the matter with a little more diligence and a lot less suspicion.
Octavian Sever Coifan at 1000Fragrances writes: "I was seduced in the first 3 seconds ... (b)ut the most surprising effect is on the skin. After several hours, I forgot that I was testing the perfume when suddenly I found myself mesmerized by a divine scent floating around me . . . It doesn't smell like perfume, it smells like a human presence . . . It is a perfume of sensual texture without contrasts and classic shape, more like a morphing architecture for the future with the pure Prada stamp."
He also mentions the airy freshness of the piece, which is what's most surprising about L'Eau Ambrée, that it's an ambery oriental shot through with a breezy, clean vibe. And I totally get what he's referring to when he mentions its "human presence" -- I've had the same thing happen to me numerous times during the past two week testing period. I'll be engrossed in work, tap tap tapping away at my keyboard when suddenly I'm wrapped in a warm flourish of clean skin and hair mixed with hints of incense smoke, vanilla and polished woods.
It's as if a good friend just slid into the seat right next to mine and leaned in to say hello.
Robin at Now Smell This writes: "It's like a very transparent take on the dry woody amber-patchouli from the original Prada fragrance crossed with a bit of the creamy men's soap from Prada Amber Pour Homme . . . The floral notes are subdued and it's more dry than sweet. It's darkish and warm, but it's so light that you could wear it anywhere, anytime, and there's nothing overtly feminine about it."
While March at Perfume Posse says this: "It strikes me as the sort of scent you could get away with wearing in almost any but the most strict no-frag zones . . . I wear it pretty regularly in the summer, and/or at times when I need something clean and stealthy . . . It dries down and fades away but has a habit of popping up again and again, all day long."
Official listed scent notes for L'Eau Ambrée are: cedrat (mandarine orange), rose de mai, gardenia, jasmine and an amber accord composed of patchouli, vanilla and opoponax. It goes on pretty strong right out of the bottle, but don't be intimidated -- in order to get its best effects throughout the day, a generous application is required. Just make sure you're not entering an elevator or sliding into a crowded subway train without first giving the fragrance some breathing time (about 30 minutes) on your skin.
Reviewers at Makeup Alley have complained that it vanishes after only an hour or two, but this is definitely not true -- L'Eau Ambrée hangs on for a good eight hours (if not longer), but it wears softly and tends to perform that disappearing/reappearing act throughout the day. And though it wears fairly close to the skin, it's still noticeable to those around you (provided you've applied more than one or two sprays).
I don't go as heavy with L'Eau Ambrée as I do with other independently produced fragrances that contain a high proportion of natural oils, but I've found that six to eight sprays from head to toe works optimally (and I do mean head to toe -- don't concentrate the application all on the upper body or you'll feel like you're swimming in the stuff), though I'll be the first to admit that my application is geared more to home and open-air settings than an enclosed office environment.
The box is an attractive mix of white, black and gold, and I'm a big fan of the bottle's sleek design: hefty glass, clean lines, the graduated gray to black hue and the gleaming gold accents, but the atmomizer leaks like a m*********er and my fingers are pretty much dripping with fragrance after spraying.
I hate that.
But leaky atomizer aside, L'Eau Ambrée has been an excellent introduction to the world of Prada fragrances, and for a dedicated amber/incense lover like myself, its fresh, airy nature makes it a terrific option for carrying that fondness for sweet and smoky fragrances through to the upcoming hot summer months.
So I received the kids' versions of the Custom Keds on Friday, and they're colorful, cute and fun as can be, though I misread the sizes and thought that "4Y" meant "4 years old" instead of "4 Youth" -- don't ask me why in the world I thought a shoe would be sized according to how old a child is, but such an assumption should make it plainly obvious that 1.) I don't have any children, and 2.) I never buy anything for children.
But below are some photos of the shoes. I went with a flower theme this time around, and the printing process on the canvas turned out far better than I expected. Again, the colors are terrifically bright and the images surprisingly sharp for being printed on shoe canvas:
And since I can use my own photos for the design process, the design elements are unlimited as far as what I can use to create a one-of-a-kind shoe. The color choices are also open to whatever mood I happen to be in when I'm walking around, aiming my camera:
A little closer up on the rose shoe below:
And another one, just cuz:
Louise's kids were mildly disappointed that I mistakenly ordered giant sizes in what were supposed to be some fun shoes for their teensy feet (mein gott, but little kids have the tiniest feet!), but we took them for chocolate as a consolation, and the bumbling Mr. Doesn't Know How To Order For Kids size-fiasco was quickly forgotten:
Any resulting tummy-ache will be so totally worth it!
The link to the Keds Custom page: Design Your Own Keds. My previous entry regarding the experience with adult size Custom Keds: Design It Yourself: Custom Keds.
Note: You'd think I would have instantly known when opening the box (that was shipped directly from the factory in China) and looking at the shoes that they were going to be way too big, but hey -- they were a lot smaller than my own feet, which is all that registered. And since the shoes are custom ordered, they can't be returned, but all is not lost -- they actually fit Louise and her older sister!
1.) Lagerfeld Still Knows How to Wow the Critics:
"Chanel was the best show of the spring haute couture collections, in a class by itself. Those ethereal cloud colors--pale pink, blue and violet, a sudden vinegary yellow. Those subtle wool boucle dresses and jackets at the beginning with the seams magically erased by flat, random stitches. Karl Lagerfeld said he had been thinking for awhile about how to do a seamless dress and only recently found a method that satisfied him. He said he thought this collection might be his most interesting in terms of technique. 'It took me 54 collections to get there,' he said."
An unfortunately very brief video clip below of the Chanel Haute Couture show, but it's in Hi-Def, which allows us to get a better look at the technical wizardry of the garments.
Practice makes perfect
If you pause the video at 00:13 and look carefully at the shoulders on the pale blue jacket, do you see any seams? I don't think I do! That blows my mind. Well, not in a "Wow, a gene therapy that cures cancer!" sort of way, but it doesn't take a big rock to make a splash when the pool is so shallow . . . oh, you know what I mean!
This kind of creative and technical progress in garment making is what keeps Haute Couture, despite its often maligned reputation for over-indulgence and irrelevance, genuinely and completely relevant to the fashion industry as a whole. Without the enormous time and resources poured into these collections, we would never witness these types of creative leaps.
And as politically toxic as the phrase "trickle down" has become, the advances propogated by Haute Couture do eventually find their way to the street. The end result isn't nearly so glorious -- and minus the heart-shaped candy-box hairdos, do we even dare? -- but the female CEO's and those wives of billionaire oligarchs sitting in the front rows (well, give or take the occasional thirteen year old) can be thought of as the fashion world's version of hi-tech early-adopters, dropping $70K on a breakthrough, hand-sewn seamless jacket so that the peasants can splurge on a significantly more affordable, mass-produced version . . . someday.
Speaking of a thirteen year old sharing front row privileges at haute couture shows with the fashion press and Hollywood actresses (who unashamedly request dresses for free), Dave McGinn at The Globe and Mail published an article that examines the fashion industry's latest (sort of creepy?) obsession with the opinions of teenagers: "Our idea of expertise has undergone a massive change in the Internet era. Until recently, an expert was someone who had spent a few years undergoing training in a field and then even more time sharpening his or her critical skills. Now, though, wisdom and experience appear to have been supplanted by a thirst for novelty and newness . . . Making celebrities out of 11-year-olds makes one wonder if the industry's cult of youth has any limit, Matthews David adds. 'Fashion has always fetishized youth, but how far can this go?'"
But while McGinn assumes that the issue is general "youth obsession", the story is more specific than that. Teenage style bloggers are the Internet's Lolita story -- high-school girls parading about in mommy's sexy stilettos, role playing with an arsenal of beauty products, writing reviews of couture shows peppered with ass and fart jokes, and otherwise bending an industry that's allegedly for and about the mature woman into yet another tender fantasy pretzel for daddy.
It's not surprising that teen style blogs are embraced by the industry. What's surprising is that anyone would even question why.
In other news, Gucci has announced plans to enter the rarified world of haute couture, positioning head designer Frida Giannini as one of the few women to break the chiffon ceiling and direct a couture line: "Sources claim that Gucci's couture collections will not be showcased at Paris Couture Week alongside those from Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and others, but will be available on an appointment-only basis for celebrities and big red carpet occasions. Versace's 'Atelier Versace' line works on a similar basis."
Meanwhile, industry insiders are crowing over the "recovering" economy because wholesale menswear orders saw a 15% uptick during the latest round of shows, but, really, the 15% increase is in comparison to January of 2009, which immediately followed one of the most abysmal holiday seasons ever for retail -- meaning that orders in January of 2009 were cut severely, suddeny and drastically. So it's not like the industry had anywhere to go but up: "'Let's say that it can only get better after coming from a not very enthusiastic 2009,' Mario Boselli, head of Italy's National Chamber of Fashion, said."
Exactly. In more pop-culture friendly words, "Great, kid, don't get cocky!"
Related: a video roundup of the Fall/Winter menswear collections in Milan and Paris:
2.) Men are the New Market for Fashion and Beauty Products:
"Japanese college students are more interested in moisturizer, cleansing scrubs and beauty salons than they are in cars, according to a survey of 1,600 men and women by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association last year . . . 'We aim to lure the middle-aged men who aren't used to skincare products,' said Tadashi Kirai, a spokesman. 'There is more potential for the men's skincare market because more than two-thirds of men have never done any care.'"
And with growth predictions flat to declining for the industries overall, catering to the men in the club seems as good a direction as any if companies wish to replace lost consumers with new ones.
Newsweek reported on the growing man-trend in their article, "It's a Man's World", detailing how many companies are redoing their interiors to make men feel more comfortable shopping, with some brands dividing the sexes into separate boutiques altogether: "Just as some educators believe that single-sex classrooms are better for learning, some luxury brands are finding that single-sex boutiques boost the bottom line. While it's not exactly a man's world on Main Street, luxury brands are increasingly offering greater exclusivity in men-only shops."
Tom Ford famously opted to target the underserved world of men's high-end fashion after departing from his role as head designer for Gucci women's wear in 2004, opening a men's only boutique in Manhattan in 2007, followed by boutiques in Zurich and Toronto. Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood have recently opened men's only stores in Japan, Hermes is scheduled to open its first men's boutique in New York this coming February, and Ralph Lauren has announced plans to convert one of its landmark Manhattan stores into a men's only shop. In China, where men are still the major purchasers, men's only stores are expected to flourish.
The main reason for dividing the sexes when shopping is that men are believed to engage in much different shopping behavior than women -- targeted hunting rather than casual browsing -- so a one-size-fits-all environment that skews female is turning the average male shopper away. You know those men you see standing impatiently outside of stores while their wives shop? Right, well, the brand managers have seen them, too, and decided that now it might be time to do something about that.
Speaking of catering to men, the Yves St Laurent company hired famed video director and fashion photographer Bruce Weber to film their Fall 2010 menswear collection:
Personally, I'm not a fan. Weber's style is oh-so 90's (think Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game"), which makes the campaign feel out of date already, despite the fact that it was just released.
And black and white slo-mo shots of young, skinny models jumping up and down in various states of shirtlessness, not to mention various states of pantslessness, seems a tad too been-there, done-that, freshman year art school project for a global luxury brand with a history of cutting-edge innovation.
In fact, the YSL film views like a classic example of what Cathy Horyn may have been referring to when she wrote: "Some efforts by luxury houses to engage fans through social media feel awkward, though -- like watching your grandfather attempt the twist in the 1960s."
3.) Anna Wintour Asks French Govt to Stimulate the French Fashion Industry:
"Anna Wintour, the influential editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, told French officials that the country doesn't do enough to support its fashion sector . . . Fearing that France's preeminence in fashion may be dwindling, the government was already taking steps to protect the industry, which employs 125,000 people in France. Mr. Estrosi said state-owned banks and investment funds will soon offer streamlined financing for start-up fashion businesses."
One of the ways in which Wintour stressed that the government could help the fashion industry is by relaxing France's strict 35-hour work week policy in order to allow French fashion industry employees to work longer hours in the run-ups to the major shows held in Paris several times a year. The government is considering a work-week exemption aimed at fashion industry employees only.
Speculation has been that Wintour was hit particularly hard by the collapse of the House of Lacroix (she and the designer were/are allegedly friends), and is determined that other French icons of fashion not suffer the same fate.
Speaking of Anna Wintour, Vogue ad pages are flat to down while competing magazines are showing increases. And GQ magazine has embraced its new Internet overlords, selling 12,000 issues of its January edition over the iPhone for $2.99 a pop. Smart.
4.) Pricey Balmain Raises Hopes for Diffusion Line, Then Dashes Them:
"Rumors abounded on fashion websites and blogs earlier in the week that Balmain was set to launch a new affordable diffusion line . . . Much as we would love to confirm this for you (and ourselves) ... sadly we are the bearer of bad tidings. 'There is no Balmain lower priced line,' a spokesperson told Vogue.Com today. 'What I think you might be referring to is a capsule collection that was prepared for some Parisian retailers. Christophe Decarnin wasn't involved in that project. The brand has decided to not repeat the experience, preferring to concentrate all its efforts on the mainline.'"
Anticipation was especially keen for a Balmain diffusion line as Balmain items typically start expensive (offensively so, says Cathy Horyn), then keep climbing from there. A Balmain cotton t-shirt is $1500.00, while jackets and dresses run into the tens of thousands.
But Balmain is the it, hip and cool label right now, and its stratospheric pricing has guaranteed it a cult following among young celebrities, supermodels and trust fund kids. Everyone else is relegated to sad wannabe status. A video clip below of the so trendy it hurts Balmain Spring/Summer 2010 collection, a kicky look at the modern military machine:
Another designer that took the millitary look and (over)ran with it is haute couture man Josephus Thimister. Mixing pop-culture politics with fashion is a trend that will never die, but creating an entire collection around the violent, blood-soaked side of human nature is something else altogether, and I wonder who his customers will be:
"I'll take the blood spattered trousers and matching knife slashed tee, please!"
But hey, if you can't find your way into either of the above, you can always get JWOWWed: "Jersey Shore alumnae Jwoww is embarking into the world of fashion designer. That's right, the reality tv star with a penchant for plunging necklines and crotch-grazing skirts is soon-to-be stocking her very own styles in a store near you."
I know, I'm sorry, you were right in the middle of lunch and now you're not feeling so well . . .
5.) Worlds Collide - Victoria Beckham and Karl Lagerfeld to Design a Hotel:
"Fashionista Victoria Beckham has been offered a staggering $40 million to design a new luxury hotel in Dubai. The future hotel, which has also enlisted the help of designer Karl Lagerfeld, will be on Dubai's Isla Moda - a fashion-themed island."
As if the JWOWWing of the fashion world wasn't enough, now we have our lord Lagerfeld sharing marquee space with a lowly WAG. Beckham's probably getting paid the same as he is, too -- if not more.
You see, kids? This is why it's important to go to school, toil away for years at a painstaking craft, pay your dues as a subordinate, and work like a freakin' dog for decades to earn respect for your talent and the accolades of your peers . . . or you can just become a surgically enhanced pop-star, marry well and pose for underwear ads.
Either way, you're a smashing success, with your own international high-end clothing line and Dubai investors hounding your waking moments.
Beckham shows what it takes to be the next emperor of haute couture
21st century life is bafflingly grand, aint it?
6.) INDUSTRY QUICK HITS:
A. Where Barbie went wrong in China: "Like Apple when it launched the iPhone in China, Barbie made the mistake of paying too little attention to local consumer tastes. Chinese women tend to like cutesy, girlish pink clothes (think Hello Kitty), not the sexy and skimpy kind Fields designed. Odd as it sounds, Snoopy-branded clothes, cartoon logos and all, are hot sellers for women entering the white-collar workforce."
This is a common criticism I'm hearing of Western brands who set up shop in China -- they continue using marketing strategies developed for Western consumers instead of creating an entirely new look and feel for the Chinese market. Taking a product and simply plonking it down in China, without consideration for local tastes, is an invitation to disaster.
As much as I find the idea of an Hermes diffusion line created just for China to be kind of horrifying, I can also see the wisdom in such a move.
In other Barbie news, Barbie gets her high-fashion spotlight: "12 of the CFDA's top designers have used their iconic accessories to create one-of-a-kind Barbie Basics dolls . . . The dolls will be auctioned off on Ebay.com starting January 28th at 10pm EST and will run through February 7th. Proceeds from the sales will benefit the CFDA Foundation and the organization's scholarship and educational programs."
B. Sample sales are a dying breed: "Word is that the Alexander Wang Gilt Groupe sale that kicked off yesterday will replace the designer's much-anticipated bi-annual sample sale."
Wang, instead, opted to unload his sample merchandise online only, which completely democratizes the sample sale phenomenon. In the past, denizons of major metropolitan centers (mostly NYC) were the only beneficiaries of the sample sale, where designers unloaded merchandise that was created for runway shows, photography shoots and magazine editorials, if not just plain excess that they couldn't sell in their stores.
But with the rise of sites like Gilt, Haute Look, Rue La La, Beyond the Rack and more, designers can ship the merchandise off to a website and wash their hands of it. No scouting for a location, no rental fees, employee wages, no lugging merchandise around the city. As the author of the article noted, the prices are higher online than they were in the old physical locations, but that's because there's now so much more competition -- instead of just a few thousand that might hit the sale in New York, there's the potential for millions of interested purchasers online.
And nothing gets ripped, torn or yanked into oblivion in the process.
C. Inter Parfums sees 13% growth for the latest quarter: "Inter Parfums Inc. announced that net sales for the fourth quarter were about $113.6 million, a 13% increase from $100.4 million in the prior year quarter."
Inter Pafums creates fragrance products for brands such as Burberry, Lanvin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Banana Republic and The Gap, as well as the upcoming Jimmy Choo launch. Inter Parfums has also announced a 10 year deal with Montblanc to sell and market perfumes under the Montblanc name, so the company has obviously been busy behind the scenes.
Philippe Benacin, CEO of Inter Parfums, revealed several new projects on Inter Parfums' plate for 2010: a line of Burberry Sport fragrances in February; the launch of Oriens, a female fragrance line, by Van Cleef & Arpels in March; a full Burberry cosmetics line in June to accompany the extensive line of Burberry fragrances; new Lanvin and ST Dupont fragrances in July; and a line of men's fragrances under the Van Cleef & Arpels banner in September.
And the Valentino company has officially announced its move to Spanish fragrance licensor Puig, leaving Proctor & Gamble as P&G lost faith in the brand and expressed little desire to spend further resources in support of present and future Valentino launches.
No heat between P&G and Valentino
D. Financial tidbits and company shakeups: 1.) LVMH appoints a new creative director to eco-conscious fashion brand Edun; Chanel is raising its handbag prices 15% to 20%; Italian luxury brand Tod's reported disappointing sales for 2009; Bulgari sees 4Quarter sales slide 5%; Estee Lauder sees sales climb 11% for the quarter; Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M reports a sharp increase in December and January sales; Billionaire Ronald Burkle is hot for a big chunk of Barneys; online luxury retailer Net-A-Porter expands into the lucrative bridal business; and Neiman Marcus appoints a new men's fashion director.
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