12 posts tagged "Theory"
Barneys Co-Op Turns 25
When Barneys New York founded its Co-Op levels and stores in 1985, they were, as Style.com editor in chief Dirk Standen put it to the store’s Julie Gilhart, “in the vanguard of the mix-and-match approach.” “We never thought of Co-Op as a place where you find secondary collections,” Gilhart demurred. “It’s a place where you find something different.” Different as in not seen before (but almost always seen after) in other stores—and different, according to many designers whose careers Co-Op has nurtured, as in making all the difference to the fledgling businesses. “We are so happy the Co-Op exists to expose small brands,” Vena Cava’s Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai said recently. They’re not so small anymore. Phillip Lim agrees. Co-Op, he enthuses, “is like the A&R people of the fashion industry: They are the first to discover and support young talent.” That young talent is giving back for its 25th anniversary, offering exclusive products in stores and online. They include (left to right) a soft cowl-neck dress from Wayne, a cloud-print shirt dress from Vena Cava, and a fur-hood anorak from Theory that’s perfect for the cold weather soon to come.
Footwear, Now In Theory
A solid three-point plan to upmarket your brand: 1) Begin introducing more luxurious products into your office-friendly line. 2) Sign on Olivier Theyskens to do something, anything. And 3) Bring in a footwear expert to design hot new styles, from lace-up booties to cap-toed platform spectator heels.
That’s the Theory plan, and so far, it’s working. The label’s offerings are looking better season after season (Bergdorf’s Linda Fargo is raving about its glamorous and comparative inexpensive fur coat for fall), and Theyskens’ collection for the brand is on deck. But before the former Rochas and Nina Ricci phenom tries his hand, there are the shoes. Several styles launch tomorrow on Theory’s Web site, all for under $600. There’s a lace-up bootie in leather or charcoal flannel, a cutout take on the hot-again pump, and a chunky sling-back we wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot more of in the coming weeks. Who to thank for all of these? The brand’s design team and a certain much-followed private designer. No names, but you never know—she might just hit the shows sporting one of her own creations. If that’s the case, we’d advise buying now, before they sell immediately out.
Leather lace-up bootie, $595, and suede sling-back, $415, available tomorrow at www.theory.com.
It’s A Stylist-Eat-Stylist World
The world of fashion styling is plenty competitive, but thanks to Theory, that competition is now pretty literal: The label pitted three top stylists (Annabel Tollman and Nylon‘s J Errico and Dani Stahl) against one another in a to-the-finish style-off. Each styled three looks (a shorts look, a jersey look, and a men’s look) using Theory items, all of which are now on view at Theory’s Facebook page; vote for your favorite from now until July 9, and the one with the most votes will get a donation made in his or her name to the charity of his choice. (Tollman is playing for Oxfam America, Errico for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Stahl for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons.) As an added incentive, cast your vote and you’ll be eligible to win one of three $750 gift cards. Go forth and vote, and may the best stylist win.
Above: Shorts looks (left to right) styled by J Errico, Annabel Tollman, and Dani Stahl.
More Changeups In Fashion Land, Au Revoir To Louise, And More…
The designer merry-go-round keeps on spinning. Much-missed Olivier Theyskens will design a capsule collection for Theory, and Christophe Lemaire, formerly of Lacoste, will take over for the departing Jean Paul Gaultier (pictured) at Hermès. [WWD; NYT]
Changes are brewing in the world of menswear, too. Daiki Suzuki, the Japanese-born designer of Engineered Garments, will step down as creative director of the Americana label Woolrich Woolen Mills; the blogger-adored Mark McNairy will take over there. [WWD]
Louise, we hardly knew ye. Louise J. Esterhazy, the alter ego of John Fairchild, will retire her society column in W under Stefano Tonchi’s new editorship. “Louise,” over the years, brought us such salty musings as “You could reply that’s frivolous in this troubled world, but do you really think dressing like an existential nun with suicidal thoughts is going to solve Bosnia?” [Page Six]
Helmut Lang alum and knitwear designer Tobias Wong of Wong Wong is teaming up with Happy Socks for a series of World Cup styles. Just another reason to get in the mood for the World Cup. [Racked]
And you’ve already seen Louis Vuitton’s London opening bacchanal through the eyes of Derek Blasberg; now see it through the eyes—er, eye—of monocular cartoon correspondent Darcel, of the great blog Darcel Disappoints. Keep your eye peeled for a cartoonified Peter Marino, too. [Nowness]
Blasblog: From Theory To Terry On Fashion’s Night Out
To put it mildly, my Thursday night plans were ambitious. For Fashion’s Night Out (or F-NO! as some of us were calling it), my pit stops would be the following: Theory, Rag & Bone, Intermix, Burberry, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Prada, Miu Miu, Armani, Oscar de la Renta, Missoni, the Vogue Alumni House, Opening Ceremony, and the dance party at the Jane Hotel. Now, looking back on the night, making 10 out of 13 ain’t bad. The night consisted of highs (a beer handed to me by Miss Jessica Stam at Rag & Bone; a private concert by none other than de la Renta himself), and lows (Lily Donaldson kissed me on the cheek from her DJ booth at the Soho Burberry store and commented on my profuse sweating; I tripped down the stairs at Miu Miu right after Alexa Chung dedicated a song to me during her DJ set). But the overall consensus was that the night’s objective—making shopping fun again—was achieved. I even caught Lim and his co-host, Irina Lazareanu, skipping their party to support the Opening Ceremony fête down the road, as evidenced by this picture. However, on the retail front, my biggest shout-out has to go to my first stop, Theory—and not just because they asked me to style a mannequin and put my name really big on the window. While some labels blew the bank on flying in celebs, Theory decided to woo its biggest shoppers, who would be lured into purchasing by endorsements from fashion professionals. Fashion folk from Kate Young to Elizabeth Saltzman Walker were asked to style their looks, as if to create, as Young put it, “The Sartorialist come to life.” The result was big sales at the Meatpacking District store. “We invited our best costumers from all over the city, and even the suburbs,” Theory’s Andrew Rosen explained. “Long Island, New Jersey—we shipped in all the customers we appreciate the most.” Melissa Weiss Gellman, his head of PR, chimed in: “Yep, we sent cars for my mom’s entire bridge club in Jersey. They’re all coming in for the shopping.” I wrapped up my night with dinner at the Bowery Hotel. “I haven’t seen the streets like this since the eighties,” Terry Richardson said. Let’s just hope between cocktails the kids remembered to buy stuff.