THE APRIL RETAIL SALES REPORT
Underwhelming is the best way to describe the April retail sales report released today. Coming off a torrid 0.8% increase in March, April’s 0.1% wasn’t totally unexpected. After unseasonably warm weather brought in customers earlier in the season, a let down was inevitable. For the full report: Businessweek.
MADE IN MAINE: RANCOURT & CO.
Tucked away amongst massive, long abandoned brick warehouses along the Androscoggin River in Lewiston, Maine, sits a small, rather unassuming building humming with activity, and doing big things. Rancourt & Company is a third generation, family owned and operated business who’s commitment to the art of shoe making is genuine and timely – with only a handful of shoe manufacturers remaining in the U.S., word has quickly gotten out to an American menswear industry consumed with all things “Made in the U.S.A.” I recently made the trip north to see the factory, and meet with Kyle Rancourt, the youngest member of the family business. He discussed the companies history, their signature shoe and what it means to be “Made in Maine.”
Rancourt & Company is a family owned American business, tell me briefly about the company and the unique skill set of its workers? My family is in its third continuous generation of shoe making in Maine – with Rancourt & Co. my father and I really had a goal of expanding beyond the contract manufacturing we’d done in the past and creating our own brand that reflected our heritage and the skill set of our craftspeople. The skill set in our factory is really unique because we have the ability to (more…)
FAHLGREN TIES AT STAG
I’m excited and honored to have my new spring tie collection carried at Stag in Austin, Texas – one of the top menswear stores in America. Check out their newly designed web shop, a testament to the vision and creativity of owners Steve Shuck, Don Weir, Ted Allen, Bobby Johns & Joel Mozsersky. Their mission statement says it all: “STAG is classic and modern; traditional and progressive; new and old; respectful and rebellious. We’re several parts clothing, part antique, part gift, part accessory, and part apothecary. We’re a modern day general store for every man.” www.stagaustin.com
BEST OF: ATLANTA
If you’re tired and bored of your typical dress shirt and tie daily uniform, these portraits from last night’s Gucci & GQ event in Atlanta might provide a bit of inspiration. Sophisticated, daring, unique, with graphic color, contrasting patterns, homemade bow ties, sparkling tie pins and perhaps my favorite, a small badge written in Japanese that translated to “I Love Kyoto” – the exclusive city and hub of luxury in Japan. The new dandy is alive and doing quite well in Atlanta. Here are the close ups: (more…)
TOP SHOP: MOSCOT BROOKLYN
Here’s a great example of superior windows: the new Moscot eye wear store in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. It reads like a trophy case featuring the “Moscot Sun World Champions 2012″ – a collection of moody, beautiful characters who look like offspring from an Addams Family – Royal Tenenbaum’s tryst. Well conceived and perfectly executed, this new shop looks right at home in a neighborhood that values hip originality. Here’s the full squad: (more…)
CASUAL PREP: GITMAN VINTAGE
Wearing a dress shirt and tie doesn’t have to be stuffy. Just take a stroll across any New England prep school and you’ll notice a purposefully disheveled approach, with loosely knotted ties, untucked, wrinkled shirts and who-knows-what type of trouser. It’s charming at age 14, but fast forward to 28 and you’ll need to tighten things up a bit. Tuck the shirt back in, wear fitted trousers that compliment your shape, but keep the tie loose. Casual prep is a hugely popular trend at the moment, with “The Hilfigers” campaign a perfect example of old meets new. Take classic inspired American sportswear, (more…)
RETAIL REPORT: RUGBY
Few can match the retail prowess of Ralph Lauren when it comes to visual merchandising, a critical aspect of a brand’s identity. The popular trend towards downsizing and making each store look unique was perfected by Mr. Lauren, and there is no better example of this then his Rugby store in East Hampton, NY. Iconic images of surfing, sailing, biking, even a stack of wood complete with “Firewood Courtesy of Vermont Good Wood” – adorn the store. These perfectly mixed and matched objects make the space feel part of the local neighborhood, softening the corporate image of the store, and loosening up fat wallets along the way. The message: (more…)
LONDON COLLECTIONS: MENSWEAR
The first ever London Collections: Men, will take place on June 15th-17th. Here’s a kick-off video featuring some of the biggest names in the industry: GQ UK’s Editor Dylan Jones, Style.com’s Tim Blanks, Topman designer Gordon Richardson and Mr. Porter’s Jeremy Langmead, who remarked “There’s no doubt that menswear and the menswear industry is growing at an extraordinary speed.”
GAP 1969: SUMMER BASICS
In honor of the GAP’s extremely strong performance in 2012, marked by a 10-year closing high on March 26th, here are two straight forward, summer essentials. The basic v-neck tee shirt in asphalt, $13, and the western chambray shirt in white-out wash $60. No one does sportswear basics better than the GAP. To read the full article on the resurgence of America’s largest apparel chain, click here.
CONVERSE BY JOHN VARVATOS
The collaboration between designer John Varvatos and Converse is one of the more natural and successful partnerships in recent memory. In most cases a guest designer will come on board to design one collection and it will be highly scrutinized, with sales results often taking a back seat to the big personalities involved. Converse was a very smart and strategic move by Varvatos and helped put his label on the map after his departure as creative director of Nautica. Whether his decision to become a judge on “Fashion Star” was smart is another question entirely. Perhaps he’s hoping to capture the magic that Michael Kors has experienced through his starring role on “Project Runway.” Respect within the upper echelon of the fashion industry or wider national recognition and thus sales? How often can it be both? (more…)
SPRING LAYERING
This is an interesting color combination inadvertently put on while traveling on the west coast last week. It was a result of not packing properly, with LA a cold and rainy city. It worked out ok, and even looked refreshingly spring appropriate. Layering darker colors under a lighter color sweater often doesn’t look so hot, the whole thing tends to look unbalanced. But when you start with a beautiful sky blue shirt like this version from Steven Alan, (more…)
LAUNCHING TODAY: THE NEW IPAD
Apple is now bigger than the entire U.S. retail sector; an astonishing achievement. It will be interesting to see if the latest version of the iPad, which launches today, can capture the magic of the last two. The starting price is $499 for a 16GB WiFi-only model, with the most notable upgrades being a new camera, a much talked about 9.7″ Retina display and a faster processor.
SPRING STYLE: GQ & BLOOMINGDALE’S
It’s a party! I’ll be at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street from 5-9pm tonight for our GQ Spring suiting event. Please stop by for some style advice, have a few drinks and receive a great discount. Make sure to say hello if you make it.
THE GAME CHANGER: NIKE FLYKNIT
Just a few weeks ago on February 24th Nike announced the launch of their latest shoe called the Flyknit and shares of the company have already seen a steady rise on massive expectations. The design teams goal was to create a shoe that felt like a sock, yet could stand up to the pounding of a runner’s life. The answer: yarns and fabric variations are used to form a featherweight, formfitting upper. It’s not only revolutionary, it’s more cost effective and simpler to manufacture – with one knit piece used for the upper vs. stitching multiple panels together. Keep a close eye on the Flyknit – the next step for Nike is to create retail stations where customers can get fit for a custom woven shoe. (more…)
Q&A: DEREK BUSE OF RIVIERA CLUB
The three founders of Riviera Club, the effortlessly laid back, West Coast-cool clothing brand, are indeed living the dream. Let’s be honest, who hasn’t sat around with friends and cooked up ideas, made big plans and envisioned greatness? But in the case of Joe Sadler, Derek Buse and Greg Ullery, they actually went out and did it, and did it right. I spoke with Derek Buse (above middle) about the brand, it’s challenges and what it’s like to run a company with two close friends.
When did the idea of Riviera Club take shape and how did you come up with the name?
The idea of Riviera Club started to develop in 2008. We knew we wanted the brand to have a soft west coast aesthetic but couldn’t come up with a name off the bat. Since we founded the company in Santa Barbara, we used a spin on its nickname “The American Riviera”. (more…)
FEBRUARY RETAIL SALES REPORT UP
The retail industry, and Obama, got some great news today as about 20 companies released their February sales figures and reported an impressive 6.7 percent increase over last year. That’s above the 3 to 3.5 percent gain that was expected. Macy’s Inc. Limited Brands, Target Corp. and even long struggling Gap Inc. exceeded Wall Street estimates. An unseasonably mild winter and high mark downs on spring and summer merchandise contributed to the gain. For more information, check out the Associated Press’ coverage here.
LEARN FROM THE RETAIL PROS: J.CREW
One of the reasons J.Crew has managed to stay on top of the retail world is the fact that they are never complacent. Through partnerships with brands with rich histories (Red Wing), and support of emerging talent (Saturdays Surf), they’ve become a generous fashion incubator, not just another retailer. For fashion brands looking to gain more market share there are a few simple steps to consider, all currently being executed, and often invented by, J.Crew: 1) bring in outside talent. No need for the drama of an H&M designer collaboration – just look for, and make a list of brands that could use a little dusting off and placing back on the shelf. Pony comes to mind. That shoe brand is a classic. Anything American made is a huge plus. 2) Revamp your store mix so (more…)
GILLETTE + FASHION
If you haven’t noticed, men’s grooming powerhouse Gillette has been quietly making inroads this past week amongst industry creatives and top designers. It’s a smart move for a brand that has primarily used celebrity athletes to define it’s public image. Coinciding with the launch of their new Prostyler, Gillette is a lead sponsor of the MADE fashion shows at Milk Studios, directly supporting 10 established, and up-and-coming designers: Tim Hamilton, Anthony Azzuolo, Carlos Campos, Simon Spurr, Assembly, Public School, Oumlil, Number: Lab, Patrik Ervell and Band of Outsiders. It’s a big shift for Gillette and shows how much confidence they have in the Prostyler, a product that has both an electric trimmer for styling and a traditional 5 blade attachment for wet shaving. Their national ad campaign is also refreshingly and decidedly different, featuring Gael Garcia Bernal, Adrian Brody and Andre 3000 looking super stylish and laid back. (more…)
Q&A: ANDREW POLLARD OF PROJECT
Yesterday PROJECT Las Vegas kicked off what marks the final stop along the Fall 2012 menswear retail trade show calendar. What was once an after-thought presentation of little known brands has become a must-stop for editors, retailers, and apparently celebrities, with Pharrell Williams making a surprise appearance yesterday. At the helm of PROJECT is the always energetic and buttoned-up Andrew Pollard, who, in just a few short years since taking over, has made PROJECT a creative force in the industry and launching pad for emerging brands. I spoke to him about his vision, the resurgence, and what brands we should be looking out for.
First off what are a few of the brands that are showing at Project that we may not know of yet but will be hearing a lot of in the future?
I’d say look out for Comune, Presidents, Insubordinate Lads, Johnny Love, Simon Miller, Wolsey, Number: Lab, Volta and TheMADLEY. (more…)
NEW STORE: FRIEND
What happens when a New York City lawyer decides to move back home to New Orleans and open a menswear shop? For Parker Hutchinson, the result was “Friend” – a relaxed, well-edited store with all the key elements for a promising future. I spoke with Parker about his motivations, biggest challenges, and how there are very encouraging signs of retail growth in a city still very much in recovery.
What is the retail environment in New Orleans right now, and where did you see an opening that you are trying to fill?
There’s been a real spate of store openings in New Orleans recently. I was fortunate to find a great storefront on Magazine Street in the Lower Garden District, an area that’s shaping up to be a shopping destination for men. Within two blocks of Friend, there are at least 8 other menswear or men’s accessories stores, with half of those opening only in the last year. (more…)
