May 12, 2011

MAN OF THE WEEK

Off Track Ian Somerhalder can

use a little improvement

with his Derby duds.

BOYS’ NIGHT OUT

On the DiploFrom M.I.A. to

Mad Decent, the 411

on Wesley Pentz.

Hickey Freeman’s wool suit and

Salvatore Ferragamo’s cotton

shirt. Brunello Cucinelli tie;

The Tie Bar tie bar.

PHOT

O BY

ELI

SCH

MID

T; S

TYLE

D BY

ALE

X BA

DIA;

MOD

EL: S

ILVIU

@ R

ED M

ODEL

S; G

ROOM

ING

BY V

ASSI

LIS

KOKK

INID

IS F

OR K

ERAS

TASE

@ F

ORD

ARTI

STS

NYC;

SPE

CIAL

THA

NKS

TO T

HE P

AREN

TS O

F PE

TER

HASS

ELL,

ISAB

ELLA

FEL

LOW

S AN

D LI

NDEN

MAR

BACH

-NOR

RIS;

FAS

HION

ASS

ISTA

NT: M

ERCE

DES

BASS

Fathers Know BestRetailers, coming

off a strong holiday

and fi rst quarter,

are gearing up

for what they

expect will be a

solid Father’s Day.

Traditional gifts

such as sport and

dress shirts, ties,

small leather goods

and gadgets are

expected to be the

bestsellers.

Men’s Week

Men’s Stores See Strong Father’s DayTraditional apparel items expected to lead the way as business continues to strengthen.

MW2 WWD THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011

by JEAN E. PALMIERI

THERE’S BEEN NO hiccup in the men’s wear business.

After a strong holiday season in 2010, men’s wear sales have continued to gain steam this year, outpacing wom-en’s. According to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, men’s apparel sales rose 12.4 percent in April, more than the 7.4 percent gain posted by women’s wear and the strongest growth in the category since May 2007. The NPD Group Inc. reported men’s sales rose 12 percent for the three months ending Feb. 28, on top of a 3.3 per-cent gain for 2010.

“This is a very healthy growth rate and a clear sign men are looking to rebuild their wardrobes,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for NPD. “Based on what we are seeing in the recent market data, the categories that are going to pros-per are those that are a combination of basics and replenishment as well as some impulse and fashion categories.”

And with Father’s Day right around the corner, men’s merchants are an-ticipating a further uptick in business. Although projections for this year are not out until the end of May, the National Retail Federation’s 2010 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, said the aver-age person spends $94.32 on the holiday, while the organization estimates spend-ing during the holiday period averages about $9 billion a year.

With numbers like that, it’s no wonder department and specialty stores are eager to grab their piece of the pie.

“It was a sensational first quarter,” said David Fisher, senior vice presi-dent and general merchandise manager of men’s wear for Bloomingdale’s. “We were up strong double digits to last year and up single digits over plan.” He said the denim business has “bottomed out,” and although not at the same level as a few years ago, is “showing some growth again.” Fisher also pointed to “updated classic collections,” such as Burberry, Tahari and Michael Kors as strong sellers. John Varvatos and the newly added Billy Reid collection are also doing well.

“We’re also getting some good reaction to young men’s collections such as Star USA, Woolrich and Shades of Gray,” he added. “But the two biggest drivers have been tailored clothing and dress furnish-ings. The shirt and tie business has been very strong for the last two months.”

As a result, Fisher said he’s expect-ing Father’s Day this year to revert back to tradition, with shirts, ties, cuff links and small leather goods being purchased as gifts. Colorful shirts, ties and pocket squares from Duchamp and Turnbull & Asser will be popular, he predicted, “and the mainstay will be sportswear,” includ-ing nondenim bottoms such as colored khakis from Dockers, regular khakis from Ralph Lauren, and woven shirts.

Matthew Singer, men’s fashion director for Bloomingdale’s, expects this Father’s Day to be “all about hanging out and having fun — great comfy sweatshirts, cool cotton suits to wear over a polo, great boat shoes.” He said dads today don’t need another basic polo shirt, but are seeking something “lived in, such as long-sleeved Henleys and chinos. It’s all about easy living.”

And it’s also about dressing up at work. “Competition in the workforce is tough so you’ve got to look the part,” said Singer.

He is expecting novelty gift items such as Polaroid’s GL10 Instant Mobile Printer from the new Lady Gaga Grey Label line to lure shoppers as well. “It’s a really in-novative gadget,” he said of the item,

which can wirelessly print photos sent to it from a compatible phone.

Jonathan Greller, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of men’s for Lord & Taylor, has also seen the men’s business maintain the strength it showed over the holidays. “It has held momentum,” he said. “It’s trending with the store or above. And we see a lot of opportunity.”

The best performers are tailored clothing and shoes, he said, which had “a terrific first quarter” and the trend is continuing into the second quarter. “This just validates that men are shop-ping,” he said. “Men are more fashion conscious and savvy and taking an in-terest in what they’re wearing.” He said the store “will continue to be aggressive with Black Brown 1826,” the store’s pri-vate brand that is “outperforming” other labels in the men’s area. Additionally, the men’s sportswear business has been strong, he said, with Polo, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and Nautica all “terrific.” In clothing, Lauren, Calvin Klein and DKNY are the top sellers.

Greller is hopeful the strong trend will continue for Father’s Day business, and actually “exceed expectations. We’re feel-ing very bullish, but we’re still cautious. The consumer still wants value so we’re

still showcasing the price-value relation-ship.” He anticipates that short-sleeve knits, dress shirts and neckwear will do well, along with woven sport shirts that can be worn casually or dressed up.

Mike Nemoir, senior vice president and gmm of men’s for The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., said the cool, damp weather so far this spring has cut into sales a bit. “Our spring hasn’t been as strong as the fall because our stores are in a northern climate,” he said. “And our inventories are spring-driven.”

Nevertheless, he characterized busi-ness as “decent,” and said it picked up this past week as the temperatures warmed up. Long-sleeve woven shirts are the strongest classification, he said, across all categories — moderate, better and young men’s. And suit separates are also doing well, driven by private brand and Kenneth Cole Reaction. “And we’ve had decent success in flat-front dress pants from Kenneth Cole and Calvin Klein.”

For Father’s Day, Nemoir is upbeat. “We feel we’re well-positioned. We’re looking to get our share of the market,” he said. “We did a post-mortem last year and implemented and improved upon what didn’t do well.” This resulted in more emphasis on short, performance golf knits and gift items. “Our assort-

ments are right, our marketing is better and our stores look good, so we’re pretty optimistic,” he concluded.

David Zant, executive vice president and head men’s merchant for Belk Inc., said, “Men’s sales have been strong for the first quarter, and we expect to carry that momentum through Father’s Day. Our clothing and furnishings areas were exceptional, with strong pre-Easter sales. Key trends include seasonal categories such as seersucker, chambray and washed linen in sport coats, and cotton khaki suit separates. Bright colors have trended well and propelled the dress shirt and neckwear business. Best colors have been aqua, green, and melon. Bow ties con-tinue to be a factor, contributing over 10 percent of total neckwear sales.”

In sportswear, he said long-sleeve, prep-py wovens are doing well, driven by color. In both men’s and young men’s, striped knit polos and T-shirts are performing bet-ter than last year. In young men’s, vintage screen T-shirts, utilitarian and military-in-spired wovens are performing well, as are above-the-knee shorts.

“The men’s better collection business has also performed very well spring sea-son-to-date, and we think will continue to be a leading growth area for the remain-der of this season,” said Zant.

“Barneys New York believes a strong classification with great opportunity for Fathers’ Day is luxury sportswear from Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Isaiah and Milo. Another great gift will be sunglasses and swimwear to gear up for the warm weather from Oliver Peoples, Barton Perreira, Tom Ford and Vilebrequin, Orlebar Brown and Sundek, respective-ly,” said Tom Kalenderian, executive vice president and gmm, men’s.

Tom Whitney, gmm of Darien Sport Shop in Darien, Conn., said the store’s men’s business so far this spring has been “a pleasant surprise.” A newly installed HMX boutique has connected with custom-ers, with Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx and Bobby Jones selling well ahead of last year. Peter Millar is showing growth and the biggest brand in the store right now is Vineyard Vines. “The business is al-most double to last year,” he said.

Whitney is expecting Father’s Day sales to be even stronger, with a little help from better weather. “We need to get an 80-degree day to get men out shopping,” he said. He is projecting low double-digit growth for the holiday. “Anything else would be disappointing.”

Butch Blum, owner of the specialty store of the same name in Seattle, said his store has posted increases for seven con-secutive months. “It was good early on, but April and May are even stronger than the first quarter,” he said.

Blum said the store is doing well with sportswear, including five-pocket casual pants, as well as knit shirts and sweaters. “Wovens are coming back after a dry spell,” he added, “and soft sport coats are doing well.”

Looking ahead to Father’s Day, Blum said his “best educated guess would be more of the same. Typically, Father’s Day is not a big deal in our store, but we will be more aggressive this year to try to drive business.” For Mother’s Day, he in-stalled special windows to provide “sug-gestion” for those seeking gifts, a tactic he will most likely take on Father’s Day as well. “There seems to be pent-up demand and people are responding,” he said.

While Blum is optimistic about the state of the business, he pointed out: “We all need to keep this in perspective. These numbers are based on last year. We’re not back to the peak of 2007, so we have to be cautious about how we return to glory.”

Retailers are

optimistic about

Father’s Day

business.

PHOT

O BY

ELI

SCH

MID

T

Men’s WeekMW4 WWD THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011

Corneliani’s bag.

Canali’s cashmere,

linen and silk blazer.

Polo Ralph

Lauren’s

sunglasses.

Canali’s

pocket

square.

Jack Spade’s tie.

Prada’s nylon swim trunks. Coach’s iPad case.

Jo Malone

London’s

Sweet Lime

& Cedar

Cologne.

Sperry Top-Sider’s shoes.

Halston Man’s

Amber Eau de

Toilette.

The Art of Shaving’s

power brush.

Braun’s

mobile

electric

shaver.

Breil’s

watch.

Perry Ellis’ hat.

Men’s Week MW5WWD THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011

Photo by JOHNNY MILLER | Styled by SHANA FAUST

Coach’s belt.

Nautica’s belt.

Louis

Vuitton’s

shoes.

Polo Ralph Lauren’s

cotton shirt.

Gucci’s

watch.

Miansai’s bracelets.

Tom Ford’s Neroli

Portofi no Eau de Parfum

Tom Ford’s Neroli

Portofi no Eau de Parfum

Orlebar

Brown’s

polyamide

swim trunks.

MCM’s wallet.

Yves Saint Laurent’s

card holder.

Paul Smith’s sunglasses.

Yves Saint Laurent’s wallet.

Yves Saint Laurent’s wallet.

Dockers’ belt.

Rag & Bone’s

cotton T-shirt.

SCADS DADS

As the men’s wear business continues to gain strength, retailers are hoping to maintain the momentum with a return to a more traditional Father’s

Day offering. Gift items such as small leather goods, ties and sport coats, together with grooming products and technology-related accessories, are becoming the must-haves for Dad’s special day. — ALEX BADIA

MAR

KET

EDIT

OR: L

UIS

CAM

PUZA

NO

FOR

BRAGLIA JOINS DOLCE & GABBANA: Massimo Braglia has joined Dolce & Gabbana as global marketing and communications director. This is a new post, and Braglia, a former chief executive officer at Italian apparel manufacturer Sinv and previously at Sergio Rossi, will report to managing director and board member Cristiana Ruella, while strategy will be set by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

— LUISA ZARGANI

A NEW ROLE AT HAVAS: Global marketing and communications veteran Isabelle Harvie-Watt Clavarino is broadening her horizons. The former Tod’s Group public relations executive was appointed executive president of Havas Media Italy, a new role that she will take up in June.

Havas Media is the global media network of Havas. Digital and integration companies under Havas Media’s umbrella include MPG, Arena, Havas Digital and Havas Sports & Entertainment. Based in Milan, Clavarino will strengthen and develop Havas Media’s management and portfolio in Italy. She will report directly

to Alfonso Rodes, chief executive officer of Havas Media worldwide. Prior to Tod’s, Clavarino held posts at Versace and Giorgio Armani.

— ALESSANDRA ILARI

POWER OF O: Theodora & Callum is only in its first season, but its scarves have already been flagged by Julia Roberts as one of her “favorite things” on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

“We’re still reeling, and so is our Web site,” said Stefani Greenfield, co-owner, Tuesday during an appearance at Neiman Marcus in Dallas. “Does it get better than Julia Roberts on ‘Oprah’ with Tom Hanks? You think it’s just that moment that day, but every hour there are orders and orders and orders and not only do you sell, but so many more people know about us. It’s indescribable.”

Greenfield, who sold a couple dozen scarves within an hour at Neiman’s, is preparing a Theodora & Callum shop-in-shop inside a Stuart Weitzman pop-up store opening Memorial Day on the Circle in East Hampton, N.Y. Weitzman, who makes Theodora & Callum’s shoes, has the retail lease through October with an option to renew, Greenfield said. She’s also adding categories for resort with a few printed swimsuits plus tea-stained sun hats with beaded trim.

— HOLLY HABER

Men’s Week

CRISIS DIPLO-MACY!

Formerly M.I.A., Pentz Back With Beyoncé

MW6 WWD THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011

THERE IS NO NEED to bring up M.I.A. to Wesley Pentz, aka Diplo, the DJ-producer-ex-boyfriend who was instru-mental in her success. Pentz will do it on his own. At first it’s com-plimentary in a conversa-tion about Coachella. “I saw M.I.A. play there two years ago and it was probably one of the most amazing shows I ever saw,” he says. But then: “Last year she played, too, and it was kind of lame.” Ask him if they’re friends and the answer is, “No, no, no. Not anymore. No one in my camp talks to her any-more. She’s kind of really gone crazy.”

It’s been three years since “Paper Planes,” the song from M.I.A.’s second album “Kala,” hit critical mass. You couldn’t escape it after it was used in the trailer for “Pineapple Express” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” and it’s arguably the biggest hit for both M.I.A. and Pentz, who wrote and produced the track. They had a contentious breakup, personally and professionally, and Pentz still has plenty to say about her. “She got famous off ‘Paper Planes,’ ” he says. “She had al-ready thrown in the towel when that re-cord came out. Before that, she was like, ‘I’m retiring. I’m going to marry this guy, f--k it.’ Then ‘Paper Planes’ blew up and she was like, ‘Oh sh-t. I gotta take advantage of this. I’m actually an artist now.” Her follow-up album, which Pentz had little to do with, was not the success everyone was expecting. Then there was Lynn Hirschberg’s scathing New York Times truffle French fry story, which depicted M.I.A., whose lyrics are filled with references to Sri Lankan terrorists, as a political poseur living in a Brentwood, Calif., mansion. Pentz’s quotes validated Hirschberg’s thesis. He is still not above saying I told you so.

“Maya left herself open for attacks,” he says. “She’s not an easy artist to criticize be-cause she’s very left-leaning, she’s progressive, she’s a woman. She’s good in a lot of aspects, but when it comes to die-hard, facts-on-the-ground politics, she’s at zero. She’s nothing. I told her at the beginning of the third record, like, do not bring politics into this. Obama’s the president, for one. You just can’t glamorize terrorism, it’s not cool.…You can’t hide behind that sh-t. But she totally did. She didn’t have a

plan B. I told her from the beginning, it’s not going to work. And Lynn Hirschberg just ate it up. If she didn’t, the critics would have ate her up anyway because the record wasn’t good.”

Pentz has moved on, professionally at least. A few days before Beyoncé’s new single “Girls (Who Run the World),” which Pentz produced, leaked, he’s at the Ace Hotel, where he stays when he’s in New York because the owner gives him a rate. One would think that working with Beyoncé is kind of a big deal. “I mean, a lot of peo-ple would jump at the opportunity,” says Pentz. “For me, it’s just another thing I work with. Beyoncé is one thing, this punk band I worked with is one thing. They’re all the same to me.”

The underground is more Pentz’s thing. Which is why those who don’t read Pitchfork, or go to warehouse parties, or think a mix-tape is something you made for your high school girlfriend, might not be familiar with his work. Or at least they don’t realize that they are. When he’s not deejaying for 6,000 kids at a paint party (apparently the

new foam party) in Philadelphia, which is where he’s headed the day after I met him, he produces radio-friendly hits for singers like Robyn and Chris Brown. All that money goes into funding his indie label Mad Decent, which reps artists including Blaqstarr, J-Wow (not to be confused with J-Woww of “Jersey Shore” fame), Rusko and Depressed Buttons. Ring a bell?

If not, you might have seen Pentz in a re-cent BlackBerry commercial, in which he’s shown globe-trotting from gig to gig in a suit, which is his go-to look lately, all the while staying connected via his trusty smartphone. When we meet, he’s wearing an American Apparel button-down over a Das Racist T-shirt, jeans, red Paul Smith socks and Red Wing boots. Fashion is a growing interest of his. “Look how dope these ties are,” he says, show-ing me his collection of Native Son ties, which he got for a discounted price of $12. Pentz had spent the morning at a photo shoot for W magazine with Alexander Wang, who cast Pentz in his spring 2011 T men’s campaign. Wang’s been a Diplo fan for a while. He saw

Diplo perform in a basement in Brooklyn a few years ago and opened his spring 2010 show with a song from Major Lazer. “Right now he’s someone you know more for his work more than you know his face, which I love,” says Wang. “But it’s only a matter of time before he won’t be able to walk down the street.”

Pentz is getting more attention lately. Major Lazer, which is a hip-hop-reggae act fronted by a Jamaican GI Joe-type cartoon, is being developed into a series for Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. Pentz, who grew up in Florida but got his start in music while attending Temple University in Philadelphia, also filmed a pilot for the Travel Channel, which has been temporarily shelved. He is constant-ly on the road. Tonight, New York, tomor-row in Philly; Lancaster, Pa., after that, then on to Wesleyan and Trinity colleges, then Spain, Germany and Belgium.

Pentz has an odd sense of humor, somewhere between sarcastic and ju-venile. When I tell him I’ve been to Lancaster before, he asks me if I’m Amish. When I ask him if he flies com-mercial, he says, “No, I fly business class,” then goes on to imagine situa-tions in which he might fly private, such

as if he were hired to perform for Muammar Gadhafi. “I want to get in there before it’s all over,” he says. “I’ll be like, I wasn’t checking out the news. Beyoncé did that.”

On the table in his hotel room are two laptops covered in stickers, a half-finished bottle of Brooklyn Lager and a Polaroid of a girl in a prom dress, who Pentz has plans to hang out with tonight. I remark on how young she looks (she’s wearing a prom dress, after all). “She’s 25, not five, but thanks for saying that,” Pentz shoots back.

Back in Los Angeles, where he lives, Pentz has a seven-month-old son named Locket with his girlfriend. They met four years ago through the band Black Lips and started talking. “She got pregnant,” he says. With his travel schedule, he spends about a week each month in L.A. and the girlfriend and the son are on the road with him “very rarely,” he says. “Like, I need a tour manager to do my own shows. I don’t want to have to be re-sponsible for two other people. I can’t even be responsible for myself.”

Man of THE WEEK IAN SOMERHALDER: C

Boys’ Night Out

By Jessica Iredale

The “Vampire Diaries”

actor sported a Blues

Brothers mixed with

Dior Homme runway

look at last weekend’s

Kentucky Derby. He

would have looked

great heading out to

a club in New York,

but the outfit was

totally inappropriate

for the festive,

summery event that

is quintessential

Americana.

PHOT

O BY

RIC

H DO

NNEL

LY

Too snug. Although he

used to be a model, he’s no

longer a sample size.

Big mistake — second button

should never be buttoned.

The silhouette of the pant

is too fitted for daytime.

Although the boot might

give him the extra inches he

needs, a spectator or cap-toe

would have been better.

Appropriate for his age,

but a total disconnect with

the John Varvatos suit.

Works with the suit and

shirt, but a conversational

bow tie would have been

more appropriate.

Tie should be tightened;

makes it look like a clip-on.

PHOT

O BY

LEX

IE M

OREL

AND

Wesley Pentz,

aka Diplo.

MEMO PAD

2011

® P

EI L

icen

sing

, In

c. A

ll ri

ghts

res

erve

d.