MR: January 2019

JANUARY 2019 | ISSUE NO. 1 | VOL. 30

JANUARY 2019 | ISSUE NO. 1 | VOL. 30

THE INNOVATORS Those who think outside the box

THE REINVENTION ISSUE

BOLD MOVES AT MACY’S PHLUID CHALLENGES RETAIL NORMS INSIDER’S GUIDE TO FLORENCE 8 MUST-BUY STREETWEAR BRANDS

REINVENT YOURSELF Every now and then your brand needs a makeover. We share tips from those who did it right!

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JANUARY 2019

CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS Editor's Letter 6

The key to successful brand reinvention is instinct.

Guest Editorial 8

Marc Weiss examines three trends pushing reinvention in the industry today.

Ones To Watch 10

Four brands on the rise you should consider adding to your store.

Scene 12

An insider's guide to eating, drinking, sleeping and partying in one of the world's most fabulous cities.

Fashion 70

A look at how to style some of the market's trendiest, must-have items.

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FEATURES

34

The stats say it all and upscale menswear will do just fine in 2019.

The Big Picture 27

Tailored in Transit 42

Street Where? 28

Getting Personal 46

Fashion experts on why streetwear cannot be ignored.

Art of Reinvention 32 Industry consultants reveal how menswear companies can reinvent themselves in today's era of disruption.

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Bold Moves 34

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Retailers and manufacturers struggle with a continuing conundrum.

Menswear execs reveal how they're changing their businesses, and their lives, in 2019.

Marketing in 2019 50 Social media tips to help you grow your business.

Fancy Footwork 52

A new team at Macy's is making waves.

A look at the latest trends in luxury dress shoes and sneakers.

Sharing Spaces 38

Most Wanted 54

As WeWork continues to expand, it's entering into the retail game.

Gender Studies 40

Retail veteran Rob Smith provides community and inclusion for an underserved demographic.

Some of the best and most unique accessories the market has to offer.

Sea Change 80

A father and son's relationship is reinvented.

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JANUARY 2019

THE MENSWEAR INDUSTRY’S MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KAREN ALBERG GROSSMAN KAREN.ALBERG@WAINSCOTMEDIA.COM

CREATIVE DIRECTOR STEPHEN M.VITARBO STEPHEN.VITARBO@WAINSCOTMEDIA.COM

FASHION DIRECTOR STEPHEN GARNER STEPHEN.GARNER@WAINSCOTMEDIA.COM

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER VICTORIA BEALL

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR RITA GUARNA RITA.GUARNA@WAINSCOTMEDIA.COM

GROUP PUBLISHER SHAE MARCUS SHAE.MARCUS@WAINSCOTMEDIA.COM

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR OF SALES MONICA DELLI SANTI

NATIONAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE KAREN AZZARELLO

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES KRISTIN DAUSS, JESSICA SALERNO

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION CHRISTINE HAMEL

DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING SERVICES JACQUELYNN FISCHER

GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ADVERTISING SERVICES VIOLETA MULAJ

ACCOUNTING AGNES ALVES, MEGAN FRANK

ADVISORY BOARD LIZETTE CHIN PRESIDENT MEN’S FASHION, UBM/INFORMA

BLAIR DELONGY VP OPERATIONS, JOHN CRAIG/CURRENTS

LINDSAY MORTON GAISER VP/GMM, ANDRISEN MORTON

DURAND GUION GROUP VP, MACYS INC

DONNY HUBBARD OWNER, HUBBARD CLOTHING

WILL LEVY PRESIDENT, OAK HALL

JIM MURRAY PRESIDENT, AK RIKKS

BRUCE PASK MEN’S FASHION DIRECTOR, BERGDORF GOODMAN/NEIMAN MARCUS

WAINSCOT MEDIA CHAIRMAN CARROLL V. DOWDEN PRESIDENT & CEO MARK DOWDEN

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS SHAE MARCUS, CARL OLSEN

VICE PRESIDENTS NIGEL EDELSHAIN, TOM FLANNERY, RITA GUARNA, CHRISTINE HAMEL

SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR SUBSCRIPTION/CIRCULATION INQUIRIES, CALL: 201-573-5541.

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MR (ISSN 1049-6726, USPS 7885) IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES A YEAR (JANUARY, FEBRUARY, JULY, AUGUST) MR MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY WAINSCOT MEDIA, 110 SUMMIT AVENUE, MONTVALE, NJ 07645. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT MAHWAH, NJ. AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO MR MAGAZINE, 110 SUMMIT AVENUE, MONTVALE, NJ 07645. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: TO CHANGE AN ADDRESS OR REQUEST A SUBSCRIPTION, WRITE TO SUBSCRIPTIONS, MR MAGAZINE, 110 SUMMIT AVENUE, MONTVALE, NJ 07645; TELEPHONE: 201-573-5541. ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: CONTACT SHAE MARCUS AT 856.797.2227 OR SHAE.MARCUS@WAINSCOTMEDIA.COM. COPYRIGHT © 2018 BY WAINSCOT MEDIA, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 30, ISSUE 1. ©2019

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EDITOR'S LETTER

PAUSE AND REFLECT Reinventing your business via instinct, not rules.

It’s hardly surprising that in today’s era of reinvention, everyone’s an expert. I get dozens of emails daily from PR companies pitching “authorities” who, for free press, will happily pontificate on every conceivable aspect of the business. The problem, of course, is that in our fast-changing retail universe, no expert or rule book can tell us how best to buy, present, advertise, sell, markdown and ultimately get rid of the excessive amount of goods our industry still produces. (May I suggest Delivering Good and Soles for Souls, two wonderful nonprofits that help the less fortunate?)

I love what Simon Graj from Graj

Macy’s. In an era when small is the new big and artisanal trumps mass produced, it’s amazing how seamlessly this retail giant has incorporated the current zeitgeist into a reinvented business model. Read how Macy’s president Hal Lawton and top menswear merchant Mark Stocker are investing in the future, making numerous changes that include adding exclusive product, in-store shops for unique fast-turning items, new technology including virtual and augmented reality and a distorted penetration of men’s fashion with new adjacencies to connect sportswear and tailored clothing. (It’s unfortunate that Wall Street appears not

“ Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” —MARK TWAIN & Gustavsen advises in this issue about reinventing your brand: “It’s not about learning the ‘right’ approach to brandbuilding; it’s now about observing, listening and acting on intuition. People are no longer buying ‘stuff;’ they’re not listening to marketing messages promoting things they don’t need. They’re looking for solutions, for products and experiences that enhance their lives. If you’re authentic, it’s a good time to be in this business. If you’re just selling stuff, it’s not....”

In this, MR’s Reinvention Issue, we examine the reinvention process from many perspectives: department store, specialty store, real estate, retail technology, social media, tailored clothing, luxury streetwear, accessories and more.

Our department store case study is

to appreciate intelligent investments in the future­that, of course, affect current margins but are already boosting sales.)

Our specialty store focus is The Phluid Project, an inclusive approach to genderneutral fashion and community; our nonfashion close-up is WeWork, a phenomenon that reminds us how quickly a simple idea can change our world.

Check out our in-depth analysis of tailored clothing (an admittedly tough business in today’s casual era but fabric innovation, made-to-measure and replenishment programs are boosting sales for many) and luxury streetwear, which has quickly grown from a niche underground category to a mainstream industry. (But once mainstream, is it still cool? Read our feature and find out!)

Also in this reinvented (and redesigned) MR: a lot more of Stephen Garner’s fabulous fashion, Cristiano Magni’s Florence (where to eat/drink/shop/stay while at Pitti Uomo), Nick Hilton’s poignant essay on fixing a family rift, industry execs on personal reinvention and much more.

Please let us know what you like, hate, want to read next, etc. Although our look has changed, our mission remains to educate, entertain and inspire; we can’t do it without your wisdom, experience and ideas!

And speaking of such, I conclude with another Mark Twain quote that epitomizes what so many of us believe in our gut but have yet to act upon: “Twenty years from now, you’ll be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.

Discover.”

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GUEST EDITORIAL

FORGET THE STATUS QUO! It’s time for retailers to reexamine, rethink, and redo!

By Marc Weiss, Management One Reinvention today is based on three trends in retail: speed, convenience and scarcity.

Speed to market of new fashion. Speed and scarcity driving the elevated streetwear market. Through drops and launches, vendors create demand via scarcity of product. We’re witnessing the beanie baby phenomenon on steroids, where customers are paying crazy prices, significantly higher than retail. Granted, a good portion of this is resold on the Internet. Through ecommerce, shopping becomes convenient.

Scarcity is created by vendors limiting delivery. Comme Des Garcons precludes oversaturation by limiting their accounts’ open-to-buy each season, just one example

by rolling the dice on what became “it” brands, through great storytelling, and with knowledgeable and caring sales associates.

They were not afraid of a $700 sneaker or a $300 T-shirt, and neither are their customers.

Speed and hustle involve a willingness to gamble without fear of failure. Not all collaborations work; some pop-ups are

We’re witnessing the beanie baby phenomenon on steroids, where customers are paying crazy prices, significantly higher than retail. of how vendors are in control. But those retailers with hustle, who are fast to these prized vendors, are generating huge increases and capturing market share.

What’s interesting to me is how so many of the top luxury men’s stores completely missed this opportunity. Their customers are snapping up these coveted products at cool new stores and websites that appeal to the new wave of hip and youthful wealth.

One of our retailer clients in its seventh year, coming into the business with no experience, is crushing it. They did it

better than others. Butch Blum, a longtime successful retailer and now consultant, offers the following: “My experience with pop-ups has been mixed. The shops that seem to work best are the ones located close to the store’s main entrance. A broad assortment of goods is important, as is a good supply of inventory to replenish bestsellers.” One notable success story: Kith was founded in 2011, by 2017 was sharing a look book with Bergdorf Goodman and now has a store within Bergdorf ’s. They know how to capitalize on each other’s

markets, both demographically and psychographically. Understanding the crossover in product and customer following is critical. To best accomplish this type of collaboration, you need to be a strong, consistent storyteller on social media.

It goes without saying that today’s customers want convenience and new goods all the time. Expectations have changed: the Internet has trained us to shop 24.7.365.

Studies have proven the longer the lead-time on delivering goods, the lower the sellthrough and profit. A few deliveries a year does not give your customers reason to visit you regularly. Thanks to Nike and Adidas, young male customers are being trained earlier and earlier to want new goods. Ask any 16-year-old what’s on Nike’s next quick strike launch and he or she will respond with color and style. These are your next generation customers, in stores and online.

In sum, reinvention as an art form is a willingness to embrace and adapt to change, not fear it. Risk aversion steers you toward the status quo, even as the status quo is tumbling downhill.

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SPRING SUMMER 2019 COLLECTIONS Our unique design approach made BertigoÂŽ shirts the embodiement of elegance and european flair, fit for the modern man.

This season, discover, besides an impressive display of beautiful shirts, masterfully created by international

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Designer Yaniv Bitton, discover our line of carefully crafted Blazers.

Their sophisticated fits and tasteful color combinations, carry further the spirit of the brand, bringing European and American esthetics closer.

We have applied our expertise of

patterns and colors to a large line of polo shirts and swim trunks, created with the same obsession for quality and elegance that made us a landmark of the 21st century menswear world.

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ONES TO WATCH

NEW THREADS These four brands on the rise are serving up creatively designed product you should consider adding to your store. By Stephen Garner CASABLANCA

Here is a brand to put on your radar when thinking of adding newness to your store: Casablanca.

This up-and-coming Parisian menswear brand has officially launched with a new après-sport concept by French Moroccan creative director Charaf Tajer. The debut collection, dubbed Casablanca Tennis Club, is the brand’s spring/summer 2019 collection, which is available now.

For Tajer, who is known for his involvement with French brand Pigalle and Parisian hot spot Le Pompon, Casablanca is effortless elegance that epitomizes his interpretation of new luxury. The Moroccan city of Casablanca, where Tajer’s parents met and where he spent his summers as a boy, evokes childhood memories of what vacations and getaways feel like.

Manufactured in Casablanca and designed between Paris and Casablanca, the debut collection consists of T-shirts ($60 retail), silk shirts ($625), terrycloth tracksuits ($450) and tailored suits ($890).

Retailers to pick the brand up in its first season include Maxfield, Alchemist, Browns, Ssense and United Arrows, to name a few.

FLITELESS

With more than 40 years of footwear experience behind them, industry veterans Johan Ringdal, Anders Sverdrup-Dahl and Paul Fleming, whom you may know from Swims, have come together to launch a new project destined to disrupt the dress shoe market.

The now two-year-old footwear brand, dubbed Fliteless, solves a common problem of the modern working professional: commuting to and from work in sneakers to avoid the discomfort of dress shoes. Fliteless provides the solution by combining the technology and bounce of a running shoe with the elegance of a classic dress shoe.

“Fliteless is all about comfort and wellness—we’ve even dubbed one of our customer personas ‘the exathlete-turned-dealmaker,’” says Fleming. “At our core, we believe the modern guy should be able to walk around in complete comfort in his business shoes.”

And these shoes seem to be striking a chord with retailers and consumers alike. Fliteless has already found success with menswear stores across the U.S. including Andrew Davis, The Rogue, Pinstripes, Circa 2000 and more. Retail price ranges from $280 to $380.

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Looking ahead to next year, Fleming and his team are rolling out a new digital POS unit which allows the brand’s wholesale partners to capture missed sales opportunities’ “Our retailer partner can pocket a sizable commission off MSRP without having to own every SKU, and the customer will receive his purchase directly to his home in two to four business days,” explains Fleming. “Essentially, we’re trying to think differently not just in our design process, but also in ways to evolve the business model for the benefit of our retail partners by adding a new revenue stream.”

TOM ÀDAM

Hailing from Paris, this under-the-radar brand is serving up chic and sustainable underwear and swimwear for men. Using natural materials in refined silhouettes that stretch beyond seasonal trends, Tom Àdam incorporates textiles sourced and developed in collaboration with artisans around the world.

“We ensure that every phase of the brand development, construction and production process is flawless and refined to the smallest details,” says Tom àÀdam Vitolins, creative director. “Imperative to our brand is the slowing down of the mass production of men’s underwear market, with outstanding craftsmanship and the best materials out there.”

While Vitolins is doing his part to minimize waste in this market segment, he and his team are working hard to develop new sustainable ways to create beautiful undergarments men will want. “Quality of the product, attention to detail, and of course the sustainability side of manufacturing process keep our customers coming back,” adds Vitolins.

The brand’s most popular item is its swim short, which retails for €150, with its boxer short (€65) and brief (€45) coming in close behind.

At the moment, Tom Àdam’s only U.S. presence is at LA retailer Blend/ Stories, but the brand is hoping to gain traction in the States having built quite a presence in Europe.

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

CAMERON BATES

Originally from North Carolina and now based in New York, Cameron Bates launched his eponymous label at a young age, infusing the streetwear brand with energy that attracts a like-minded audience of driven young men.

“I take great pride in making a high-quality product,” says Bates.

“The material, cut and weight of the finished garment all play a role in how the customer perceives each style. That is the entry point of interest, but what sells them is getting to know who I am as a person and as a designer. I allow the consumer to be a part of the world that I create. Each style is an invitation into who I am, how I think and feel.

The consumer needs to understand this to fully understand the brand.”

The designer streetwear brand landed at Atlanta retailer ATTOM, which also has a location in Switzerland, for its debut season and is poised to open 10 to 15 more doors moving into the fall/winter 2019 collection. Bates’ strongest pieces are his outerwear, which ranges from coaches jackets to tactile vests. Retail prices range from $125 to $695.

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EXPLORE H

An insider's guide to eating, drinking, sleeping, shopping and partying in this most fabulous city!

By Cristiano Magni If you are bitten by the Pitti virus, you know very well that symptoms include long hours standing, chatting and shaking hands at the Fortezza. The most debilitating symptom, though, is perhaps one’s inability to explore the crevices of this magical city you have traveled so long to get to and are so excited to be in, yet have only scraped the initial tourist-filled surface of. Fret not, though, as we have the antidote! Welcome to a curated guide to the Florence one wouldn’t normally get the chance to stumble upon—filled with unusual and, for some, still secretive go-to destinations adored by locals. * Please note that, in the interest of your time, I have limited the scope of my tour to the historic center.

Let’s start with places to stay. If you are traveling on a budget and all you need is an immaculately clean room walking distance from La Fortezza, try La Dimora degli

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E HIDDEN FLORENCE

the moment is Osteria dell’Enoteca (Via Romana, 70r), where you can personally handpick the wine from a curated cellar under the guidance of an expert sommelier.

No matter your choice, you won’t regret it.

Another dining experience not to be missed is offered by Cibrèo (Via Andrea del Verrocchio, 5r), serving since 1979 authentic seasonal cuisine alla Toscana.

Two doors down and owned by the same chef, Fabio Picchi, is its Tuscan-Japanese fusion version, Ciblèo. If you love a rustic ambiance, Trattoria 13 Gobbi (Via del Porcellana, 9r) is going to be your top pick—just be sure to get their mouthwatering rigatoni sauce. Another oldschool trattoria I discovered in my college years that I ritually visit every time since is Cammillo (Borgo San Jacopo, 57r). It is a classic go-to spot that combines Tuscan delicacies (including gluten-free options, evviva!) with wonderfully moderate prices.

If you are lucky enough to be able to step out from Fortezza for lunch (if that’s you, teach me your secrets), try Luisa Via Roma’s Floret. With its gorgeous terrace seating, this spot offers very clean organic recipes in addition to delicious cleansing juices. Another little favorite of mine (especially on a tight schedule) is Essenziale (Piazza di Cestello, 3r). Order

chef Simone Cipriani’s tasting menu ad occhi chiusi. You’ll be assisted by one waiter for orders and drinks, while the cooks will explain each dish to you. For the true steak connoisseurs, indulge in a carnivorous feast at Buca Lapi (Via del Trebbio, 1 r).

Founded in 1880, it is the oldest restaurant in Florence. Everything screams perfection at Frescobaldi (Piazza della Signoria, 31), from the sophisticated décor to the menu.

To top it off, just a few steps away, inside the recently opened Gucci Garden, you can find an all-day museum restaurant, opened by chef Massimo Bottura, that mixes Italian dishes with international inflections.

If you are on the go and like to jump from one place to another like a social butterfly, then small bites and to-die-for drinks served up in an all Italian setup, may be what you are looking for. Start at the new Manifattura Tabacchi (Piazza di San Pancrazio, 1), mixing ambience with sublime cocktails. Just steps from Ponte Vecchio, in Piazza dei Rossi, 1, is Le Volpi e l’Uva, one of the city’s best wine bars to seek out vintages from small producers and delicious stuzzichini. Mad Souls &

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

Angeli, a small inn just steps from the Duomo.

If you can splurge, anything from Westin to the Helvetia & Bristol to the Savoy and all the way to the Portrait will certainly not disappoint. An all-time classic compromise is the 4-star Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni. This elegant tower partially overlooks the Arno and serves a scrumptious buffet-style breakfast—and if you’re anything like me and would rather skip lunch than stand for a long time in the Pitti cafeterias, this key advantage is not to be overlooked. Other worthy nominees in this same category are Hotel Spadari and Room Mate Isabella Hotel. If you want to make the best of your Florentine nights and wake up as late as possible (Anyone? No? Just me? ), try Hotel Cellai, a charming boutique venue located in a newly restored 19th century townhouse, only 10 minutes walking distance from Fortezza da Basso.

One golden rule applies across the board, regardless of where you choose to stay: Book early!

If your mind doesn’t immediately dart to the deliciousness of Italian cuisine when you think of traveling to Italy, you might need to reevaluate your priorities. Fasten your taste buds and keep reading.

Among the top Florentine restaurants of

From left: The beautiful Duomo shines in the Florence sky. The library junior suite at Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni. Santa Maria Novella perfume workshop offers fabulous scents.

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SCENE

From left: Inside the elegant restaurant Buca Lapi .

The team extraordinaire at Manifattura Tabacchi.

Spirits turns mixology into an art with itsunique combinations and unconventional concoctions—try the carrot jam with bourbon and egg whites—all in a small, minimalistic space. A classic staple is The Fusion Bar (Vicolo dell’Oro, 3), nested inside the Gallery Hotel Art, never failing to impress its devotees with sophisticated cocktails and elegant ambiance. The exclusive first speakeasy bar in Florence, Rasputin, may be hard to spot as the only clue you are given is the street name, Piazza Santo Spirito.

I will give you a quick tip (sshh!), and trust me, your feet will thank me: When you see a tiny entrance with a two-seater wooden pew, a crucifix on the wall and tea lights glimmering in the doorway, stop and enter.

Inside this gothic extravaganza, you can find 1930s furnishings and Prohibition-era cocktails. Social media fanatics be warned, photography is not allowed inside! In addition to the classic Coquinarius (Via delle Oche, 11r), which is arguably one of the best wine bars in Florence, I would encourage you to try, for a totally different experience, Kawaii, a tiny minimal bar famous for its saké and Japanese whiskey (Borgo San Frediano, 8r).

Yes, I know, it’s easy to fall into the charm of luxurious five-course meals and extravagant wines, but you cannot have a full Florentine experience unless you taste a panini—easy, simple and delicious. Perfect for a quick stop or for a lunch on the go, i Fratellini, in Via dei Cimatori, 38r, is only 64 square feet, yet has been around since 1875. A useful address for a snack after a visit to the Uffizi is Ino (Via dei Georgofili 3r/7r), a gourmet sandwich bar that uses ingredients sourced from all over Italy.

Bakery by day and wine bar by night, the Cantinetta dei Verrazzano, Via dei

Tavolini, 18r, is adored by locals. Waiting is well worth it if you find a line outside of Il Vinaino, Via Palazzuolo, 124, one of the most popular “street food” places, which offers some of the best truffle-based plates in town. Order a glass of vino della casa (house wine) at the vegetarian-friendly Fiaschetteria Nuvoli, in Piazza dell’Olio, 15, and don’t forget to make your way to the cellar, where you can taste their unforgettable ribollita.

Speaking of delicatezze fiorentine, il Trippaio di Sant’Ambrogio in Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti, located inside the famous market, offers the best lampredotto sandwich in town. If you feel full, take the opportunity to get your digestive system going with a 10-minute walk across the Arno to Piazzale Michelangelo, a square up a hill with stunning views of the city.

For all the romantics out there, you cannot miss the nearby Giardino del Bobolino, the smaller, quainter version of the adjacent public park Boboli Gardens.

If you are a shopaholic, guard your wallet! These places are sure to tempt your addictions. The Scuola del Cuoio (School of Leather), in Via S. Giuseppe 5r, offers glimpses into the craft of leather making.

Older masters and young apprentices cut and transform the leather into all different pieces. You can personalize your purchases with gold initials that will be embossed on the spot. Giovanni Baccani’s The Blue Shop is a dream for all home décor lovers.

Founded in 1903, this fourth-generation artisan shop still preserves its early 20th century furnishings, and sells chandeliers, frames, lamps and typical artifacts of the Florentine handicraft tradition. Another family-run business is the book shop of Alberto Cozzi, who makes bindings for

handmade books, gildings and engravings created with the tools of the trade inherited from his grandfather. In you’re thinking fashion, and fawn at the idea of having a suit or dress sewn by expert tailors, pick your fabric among the miles of textiles that Via De’ Pecori’s Casa dei Tessuti has been offering since 1929. Last but certainly not least is my favorite shopping spot: the grand Santa Maria Novella perfume workshop.

The oldest pharmacy in Europe, it produces and sells lotions, drugs and perfumes according to the medieval recipes of the Dominican friars in the 1300s.

Thousands of pages would still not suffice to round up all the magical hidden artistic gems Florence has to offer. Considering that, after all, this is not technically a vacation, I will share a “quick art ritual.” After an inevitable first night aperitivo at Procacci, I go straight to Palazzo Strozzi, located in the namesake Piazza, and enjoy its major exhibitions. No matter how busy I am, I always find the time to go see the Brancacci Chapel, in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, famous for its 1400s glorious painting cycle designed by Masolino da Panicale and his protégée Masaccio. Before heading back to the train station on my way to Milan, I never miss the contemporary art exhibits at Museo Novecento, in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. If you are either too early or…too late for your train (guilty!), a last stop at the train station’s luxury bakery VyTA can offer one final glimpse of Florentine beauty before you embark on your next journey.

Are you ready to enjoy hidden Florence? Pick your favorite spots and, uno due, tre, via!

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Italy @NYMENS

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booth 1042 fabio@ferrante.it www.ferrante.it U.S. CONTACT Jodina Trading jodina@msn.com

FILIPPO DE LAURENTIIS

booth 1114 info@calabrese1924.com www.calabrese1924.com

booth 1105 amministrazione@ferrantebrands.it www.filippodelaurentiis.it U.S. CONTACT Fuori Porta nicola@fuoriportanyc.com

CROCLUX

FRAY

DALMINE 1952

GALLIA

DI BELLO by FONTANI

INGRAM - REPORTER

DOLCEPUNTA

ITALO FERRETTI

ESEMPLARE

MANDELLI

CALABRESE 1924

booth 1141 lapcinture@gmail.com www.pelletterialap.it U.S. CONTACT Milford Leathers stefania@milfordleathers.com booth 1020 dalmine@robertson1770.com www.dalmine.com booth 1002 alice@lineafontani.it www.fontanifirenze.it U.S. CONTACT Nick Xhumba dibello@dibello.com booth 1103 monica@dolcepunta.it www.dolcepunta.it U.S. CONTACT Fuori Porta nicola@fuoriportanyc.com booth 1032 gianni.gai@esemplare.it www.esemplare.it U.S. CONTACT Fo.ri Showroom jacopo@jacopofoti.com

booth 1013 info@fraycamiceria.com www.frayitaly.com U.S. CONTACT Giovanni Vasta italianlifestyl_2013@libero.it booth 1007 commerciale@gallia.it www.gallia.it booth 1145 itcpromotion@inghirami.com www.ingram1949.com/it U.S. CONTACT Roman Gershengorn Roman.Gershengorn@ballin.com booth 1022 info@italoferretti.it www.italoferretti.com U.S. CONTACT Pino Tricase pinotri@aol.com booth 1121 e.mandelli@mandelli-milano.it www.mandelli-milano.it

MARCHESI DI COMO

booth 1129 raffaella.carraro@carraro-srl.com www.abbey-neckwear-ltd.qc.quebecx.ca U.S. CONTACT Jin Frati jin@abbeyties.com

2 | ITALY@NYMENS

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a compilation of this season's hottest trends by renowned luxury italian brands.

All made in Italy

MARCO DE LUCA BOSSO

booth 1137 demapelle@libero.it www.marcodelucabosso.it U.S. CONTACT GC Fashion Group Inc. gcfashiongroup@gmail.com

MONTECHIARO - IMPULSO - LORENZONI

booth 1029 customerservice@montechiarousa.com www.montechiarousa.com

MORA 1962

booth 1046 info@mora1962.it www.mora1962.it U.S. CONTACT Jodina Trading jodina@msn.com

myths

booth 374 m.dorlando@myths.it www.myths.it

NAPOLEONE ERBA

booth 1011 bomboi@napoleoneerba.com www.napoleoneerba.com U.S. CONTACT Giovanni Vasta italianlifestyl_2013@libero.it

ORAZIO LUCIANO

booth 1109 pino@oraziolucianonapoli.com www.orazioluciano.com

PAOLO SCAFORA NAPOLI

SINCLAIR

PAOLO VITALE HANDMADE IN ITALY

TACCALITI

booth 1102 info@paoloscaforanapoli.it www.paoloscaforanapoli.it booth 1108 commerciale2@paolovitale.it www.paolovitale.it

PAURI & CASATI

booth 1119 camiceriasartorialemilano@gmail.com www.casati-milano.it U.S. CONTACT Massimo Pauri massimopauri@verizon.net

PIERO GABRIELI MADE IN ITALY

booth 1010 palazzosartoriale@gmail.com www.palazzosartoriale.com

RATTÃ

booth 1107 ratta.luciano@gmail.com www.ratta1989.it

RIFUGIO - HANDMADE LEATHER JACKETS - NAPOLI booth 1012 info@alfredorifugio.com www.alfredorifugio.com U.S. CONTACT Nico Albanese nicoonthe5@gmail.com

SANT'ANDREA

booth 1125 info@sutoris.it www.ortigni.it

booth 1003 marchesi@saintandrews.it www.saintandrews.it U.S. CONTACT Luciano Moresco moresco@saintandrews.it

PANIZZA 1879

SEM

ORTIGNI 1930

booth 1146 info@panizza1879.com www.panizza1879.com U.S. CONTACT Roberto Dorfzaun rdorfzaun@gmail.com

PAOLO ALBIZZATI

booth 1043 tatiana@paoloalbizzati.com www.paoloalbizzati.com U.S. CONTACT Jodina Trading jodina@msn.com

booth 1131 info@semcreazioni.it www.semcreazioni.it U.S. CONTACT Stefano Massa sm@nonsolomoda.ch

booth 1039 sinclair@sinclair.it www.sinclair.it booth 1038 g.taccaliti@giovannitaccaliti.it www.taccaliti.com U.S. CONTACT Jodina Trading jodina@msn.com

TARDIA

booth 1045 tardia@tardia.it www.tardia.it U.S. CONTACT Jodina Trading jodina@msn.com

TIKI NAPOLI

booth 1135 giorgio.robustelli@gmail.com www.tiki.it U.S. CONTACT GC Fashion Group Inc. gcfashiongroup@gmail.com

TINTORIA MATTEI - CALIBAN

booth 1033 michela.petrali@giemmebrandscorporate.it www.giemmebrandscorporate.it U.S. CONTACT Gruppo Mattei michela.petrali@gruppomatteinc.com

VILLA DELMITIA

booth 1106 info@villadelmitia.com www.villadelmitia.com

WALKING STICKS

booth 433 info@walking-stick.eu www.walking-sticks.eu

ZABEO CASHMERE

booth 1111 zabeo.cashmere@gmail.com www.facebook.com/zabeo

SILVIO FIORELLO booth 1044

info@silviofiorello.com www.silviofiorello.com U.S. CONTACT Jodina Trading jodina@msn.com

ITALY@NYMENS | 3

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Outerwear italian clothing and outerwear combine artisanal construction with luxurious fabrics.

MANDELLI

sinclair

DI BELLO by FONTANI

0909

A.F.G. 1972-FONTANELLI

NAPOLEONE ERBA

Feel the difference.

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RIFUGIO - handmade leather jackets - NAPOLI

SANT' ANDREA

REPORTER

TARDIA

sem

ESEMPLARE

Piero Gabrieli made in italy

orazio luciano

VILLA DELMITIA

RattÃ

myths

MARCO DE LUCA BOSSO

ITALY@NYMENS | 5

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Knitwear

MORA 1962

ADESI-CASHMERE

DALMINE 1952

ZABEO CASHMERE

MONTECHIARO

LORENZONI

6 | ITALY@NYMENS

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italiAN KNITWEAR IS SUPPLE AND LUXURIOUS. your customers will appreciate the difference.

Filippo De Laurentiis

IMPULSO

ferrante

Berwich

Experience it for yourself.

ITALY@NYMENS | 7

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Shirts

GALLIA

Taccaliti

caliban

BAGUTTA

FRAY

ANDREA BOSSI /ITALWEAR

8 | ITALY@NYMENS

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the shirt is the palETTE from which you build great overall style.

tintoria Mattei

INGRAM

PAURI & CASATI

Stand out from the crowd.

ITALY@NYMENS | 9

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Neckwear

italian neckwear is the world standard for quality and style.

40 COLORI

MARCHESI DI COMO

DOLCEPUNTA

SILVIO FIORELLO

ARTURI TIES

FeFè

Italo Ferretti

PAOLO ALBIZZATI

CALABRESE 1924

Tie it all together.

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Accessories

unique and beautiful items from italy offer instant appeal.

PAOLO VITALE handmade in italy

BELTS+DI PIAZZA STEFANO

BRESCIANI 1970

tiki napoli

CROCLUX

PANIZZA 1879

It's the details that count.

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Footwear footwear from italy is the final touch for every wardrobe.

ORTIGNI 1930

PAOLO SCAFORA NAPOLI

WALKING STICKS

Complete your look.

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2019 LUXURY MENSWEAR

BY THE NUMBERS The stats say it all: Upscale menswear stores are doing just fine, thank you!

By Karen Alberg Grossman

Yes, reinvention is critical and technology plays a role, but America’s upscale menswear merchants have not abandoned their winning formula: spectacular product + unparalleled service = the ultimate shopping experience!

PROFILE OF A LUXURY MENSWEAR STORE

61%

OPERATING STATISTICS

60%

51%

% MENSWEAR VOLUME ONLINE: 2.5%

SOURCE: STOREOWNER SURVEY CONDUCTED BY MR IN FOURTH QUARTER 2018

MR infographic.indd 27

Gross margin:

SUIT TICKET: $1940

23% Markdowns:

AVERAGE

Initial markup:

$900

AVERAGE SALE:

MOST EXPENSIVE SUIT: $8416

Sales per sq ft: $1000

THE BIG PICTURE | MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

r

SQUARE FEET

53% Tailored clothing• furnishings

wea

SIZE: 5166

8400

31% Sportswear

t Foo

AVERAGE STORE

ACTIVE CUSTOMERS:

6%

59 YEARS IN BUSINESS:

AVERAGE # OF

AVERAGE % MENSWEAR TO STORE:

AVERAGE # OF

BREAKDOWN OF MENSWEAR BUSINESS BY CATEGORY

• riess o s es ift Accing•g % 10 oom gr

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LUXURY STREETWEAR

STREET WHERE?

Fashion experts and retailers on why not to ignore streetwear.

By Stephen Garner Photography by Tom Sloan at Lalaland Artists for Farfetch We can’t seem to escape the influence of streetwear. The category that traditional retailers love to hate is not going anywhere. In fact, the market segment’s influence shows no signs of slowing down.

Some may say its symbolic high point came back in 2017 when streetwear darling Supreme sold a stake that reportedly valued the company at $1 billion to the private-equity firm Carlyle Group. It was a staggering valuation for a company known for selling hoodies and T-shirts, and for drawing lines of devoted teenagers to its store for weekly drops.

But the success of Supreme, and streetwear in general, makes sense when you consider changes in fashion and culture. The rise of casual styles and stretch fabrics used across all classifications reflects a demand for comfort. This, coupled with Millennials and Gen Z shoppers, who represent a dominant share of fashion consumers, is helping to propel streetwear to the inevitable climax we’re in now.

“It’s gone beyond a trend; the market has adapted to the reality of how men dress,” maintains Robert Nowill, global content and style editor at Farfetch.

“Sneakers, sportswear, hoodies, bomber jackets­—these aren’t trend items. They are mainstays in most men’s wardrobes.

They’re not going anywhere. That said, over the last couple of seasons we’ve also

seen designers offsetting these more casual pieces with elevated, sophisticated, tailored fashion.”

Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director for Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, tends to agree with this notion.

“Streetwear, or ‘athletic-inspired sportswear’ as I like to call it, is less of a trend and more of a wardrobe component. I think it’s great for the customer to have flexible boundaries

So, who is buying this “stuff ” anyway?

“Overall, it’s a young men’s game when it comes to luxury streetwear,” says Michael Fisher, vice president and creative director of menswear at trend forecasting agency Fashion Snoops. “Guys in their teens to early 30s are driving the trend. I think the interesting thing is how young guys are driving the reintroduction of street-centric collections from the ’90s, like Perry Ellis America, or unexpected

8Customers BRANDS DRIVING THE STREETWEAR MARKET are flocking online and in-store to devour every last piece from these brands.

Off White ■ Balenciaga ■ Versace ■ Gucci ■ John Elliott ■ Fendi ■ Stone Island ■ Aimé Leon Dore for what defines a specific category. Kim Jones at Dior Men’s and Riccardo Tisci at Burberry are adding both tailoring and athletic influences for a more robust assortment. This mix of high and low, tailored and casual—it makes for a more compelling store and shopping experience.”

“Streetwear is here to stay,” adds Roopal Patel, fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue. “This category has been part of the menswear wardrobe for decades and continues to grow and evolve. Hoodies, sweatpants, tracksuits and sneakers have always existed, but now these items have been elevated and are part of the man’s everyday wardrobe.”

collaborations like Palace Ralph Lauren (with Palace skateboards) and Tommy Hilfiger x Kith.”

Farfetch is seeing a larger customer base for the streetwear items it sells. “It’s not just Millennials, though they are a key demographic for these kinds of products,” adds Nowill. “More broadly, it’s men with a Millennial mindset, regardless of their age or where they live: They have an interest in design, they care about the way they look, and they don’t want to dress like their parents did.”

Patel shares this sentiment. “The beauty of streetwear is that it’s accessible to everyone,” she says. “From the 15-yearold high school student, to the 30-year-

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ET MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

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LUXURY STREETWEAR

old entrepreneur, to the 45-year-old dad, streetwear doesn’t have an age limit.”

This brings us all back to Supreme – the true godfather of streetwear.

This brand can be seen on high school students to 45-year-old dads as mentioned above. But what other brands are developing this new wave of athleticinspired sportswear? “Virgil Abloh and Off White, in my opinion, have driven this category for quite some time, even more than Kanye West,” says Fisher.

“These days, I continue to look to Kith for the most excitement in this category.

Ronnie Fieg (owner and creator of Kith) continues to dazzle us each season with collaborations with partners like Greg Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and even Versace. Also, its brick-and-mortar retail experience can’t be beat. I would imagine, going forward, that even more of the classic ’90s all-American brands will look for ways to build on the nostalgia of their glory days.”

For Farfetch, the brands that are dominating its streetwear business run the gamut. “We’ve seen success from revered labels like Balenciaga, Raf Simons and Undercover to emerging names like Ader Error, Vyner Articles and GmbH,” says Nowill. “The brands that have most captured the attention of our customers are the ones with a truly original point of view.”

Moving into fall 2019, stores looking to dabble in this hype-driven category can start by adding sneakers. Every buyer we spoke to about streetwear for this story mentioned how sneakers are driving this customer to come into the store and make a purchase – whether it’s on the newest “ugly dad sneaker” or for fresh interpretations of classic hi-tops. Other easy additions include graphic T-shirts or oversized sweatshirts. But what’s most surprising, according to Fisher, is the resurgence of classic menswear shapes like the car coat reimagined in relaxed silhouettes with nontraditional fabrics and prints, adding newness to all levels of streetwear.

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2.17-19 2019 theMART, Chicago

The buzz is true: The Chicago Collective is the best menswear show this side of the Atlantic. Listen, we were surprised too.

HERE’S WHY:

But we didn't just jump the line. Years of planning, building and revamping have established a show floor that works and a vibe that keeps you coming back.

A NO BRAINER We believe in working smarter, not harder. Navigable, hassle-free, relaxing: we’ve got the best presentation and format anywhere. We make your job easy, which means you’ve got more time to enjoy the camaraderie of our tight-knit community. This is the show you actively look forward to.

WE’RE IN WITH THE IN CROWD OPENING NIGHT PARTY February 17th 6:00 p.m.

All the brands you’re looking for? They’re here. From the major players to the indie and emerging that you’ll want to be the first to discover, Chicago Collective brings together over 350 exhibitors with the best lines in contemporary, denim, outerwear, accessories and footwear.

Come explore.

Marshall’s Landing

OUR SHOW IS BEYOND FUN Presented By:

Like, REALLY fun. In fact, this February we are partnering with Hudson Jeans to bring you yet another epic Opening Night Party at Marshall’s Landing. Plus, once you wrap each day you’re steps from world class dining and exhilarating nightlife. So what are you waiting for?

#chicagocollective

MR Bonus RIGHT.indd 1

chicagocollective.com

12/19/18 10:46 AM

ANALYST OVERVIEW

ruitt

THE ART OF REINVENTION A few of our smartest industry consultants reveal how menswear companies can reinvent themselves in today’s era of disruption. By Karen Alberg Grossman

Eric Jennings, E2 Brand Management

Robin Lewis, The Robin Report

Simon Graj, Graj & Gustavsen

Steve Pruitt, Blacks Consulting

We all know that retailers and brands are (or should be) in an accelerated process of reinvention. What’s needed for stores or brands to reinvent themselves?

SIMON GRAJ, GRAJ & GUSTAVSEN: It’s no longer about learning the right approach to brandbuilding; it’s now about observing, listening and acting on intuition. People are no longer buying “stuff;” they’re not listening to marketing messages for things they don’t need. They’re looking for solutions, for products and experiences that enhance their lives. With the emergence of so many new digitally derived brands, it’s much harder for the big brands. Today, you have to be a little bit of a rebel, an activist. If you’re authentic, it’s a good time to be in this business. If you’re just selling stuff, it’s not a good time.

ROBIN LEWIS, THE ROBIN REPORT: Everything starts with the consumer, which is now the newly dominant next generation culture.

Using AI and machine learning, it’s now possible to know, and even predict, what each and every consumer wants (and will want) when and where. (Think Amazon and Stitchfix.) All channels of distribution must be seamlessly integrated as one.

The physical platform (the store) must promise a compelling experience and personal touch, and anything BIG is a big turnoff. Small, intimate, special, constantly new and highly personalized—this is the winning formula.

STEVE PRUITT, BLACKS CONSULTING: What’s needed for reinvention: desire, brand capital, strategy, financial capital.

ERIC JENNINGS, E2 BRAND MANAGEMENT: Reinvention can produce great results if you reinvent while still staying true to your core.

Deviating too much from your brand DNA can alienate your customers and leave them puzzled, which can hurt sales. As long as brands remain true to what author Simon Sinek calls their “WHY” (why they exist, or their reason for being), then reinvention is exciting and creates desire.

Some easy steps you can take:

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■ Visuals—It doesn’t have to be complicated! I’ve seen a fresh coat of paint work wonders on many occasions. Visual reinvention by creating breathtaking displays and adding modern fixtures can make a significant impact. Crisp visual consistency online and in social media will have significant impact too.

■ Technology—When incorporating technology as a way to reinvent yourself, keep in mind, it should create a showstopping “wow” moment, or it should create an invisible behind-the-scenes process that helps your customers get exactly what they want as quickly as possible. Today, capturing and utilizing data is the name of the game.

Be sure you know what value you’re giving your customers and communicate that to them clearly. No one wants to appear too “creepy.” People are willing to give up data about themselves, as long as they see the value given back to them.

■ Partnerships—An unexpected partnership with like-minded brands and influencers can up your “cool-factor” and create a whole new perception of your brand. The Saks Fifth Ave x Fox’s Empire partnership a while back comes to mind; it had a lasting effect on reinventing the Saks brand image for a younger, hipper customer.

PRUITT: Gucci has got to be the greatest turnaround in the last five years. Their ownership is very smart, reinventing twice in the past 20 years. They understand brand capital as well as any company.

LEWIS: Walmart is changing at warp speed in all the right ways, ironically even “debigging” itself by acquiring a long tail of small businesses and turning its physical stores (supercenters first) into social community gathering places with small boutiques, parks, skating rinks and on and on. Target, Kohl’s and Nordstrom all understand they must do the same (in the appropriate configuration for their models);

Can you give any examples of failed attempts and why they didn’t work?

PRUITT: The best example is Sears: It was a bad strategy and was run by bankers, not merchants.

ROBIN: I agree: Sears and Kmart because they were run by a financier who didn’t have a clue about how to reinvent them and JCPenney under Ron Johnson circa 2012.

He had the perfect vision of what needed to be done but his implementation was a disaster because he refused to test his ideas and he eliminated all promotional pricing on Day One, thus alienating all of his core consumers who fled the store and never came back.

JENNINGS: Agree! JCPenney was built around great sales and discounts; when they tried to sell their customers on an everyday fair price business model, it had a terrible impact on their bottom line. Another good example is Brioni, a business built around classic, elegant Italian tailoring. When they hired an edgy creative director and put

Metallica in their ad campaign, they strayed too far from their core brand DNA.

Can you comment on the future of popup shops, collaborations, product drops, bloggers/influencers? What will have the most impact on future shopping?

LEWIS: It’s no longer about siloed distribution channels: The new point of sale is consumers wherever they are.

Today’s consumers are channel- and brand-agnostic. Marketing too is being fragmented: We are “de-massifying”—no more marketing to mass markets, which is why even the advertising and publishing industries are being squeezed. Most importantly, physical stores and online sites are no longer the only two distribution points. All we have are “platforms”—and Amazon’s platform is one on which any product, brand, other retailer, essentially anything and everything in the world can operate.

GRAJ: I think there are many big opportunities today. We’re in a moment of less inventory, fewer SKUs but more raison d’être. I also believe that art is the new fashion, food is the new fashion, drinks are the new fashion.

There’s a new little shop downtown in the Bowery called MaMaCha that’s a matcha tea café and art gallery; the art changes frequently so it’s a fun “selfie” experience combined with a detox beverage.

PRUITT: The world is small. It’s all about both spreading and sharing information. Popups, collaboration, product drops, bloggers/ influencers are the execution of information spreading and sharing. There will be more: Just wait until AI and 5G technology gather deeper followings....

JENNINGS: Pop-ups, collaborations, limited product drops, and influencers are here to stay because…they work! Not every brand can do all of these options, so pick your partnerships wisely. Make sure they push the envelope enough to surprise and delight your customers, while staying on-brand to your core mission.

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

Who’s reinventing themselves well and what are they doing right?

some are further along than others and speed is of the essence.

GRAJ: One example: We’ve just developed a new plus size women’s brand for Kohl’s.

They had the option to buy an existing plus size brand but they opted to launch a new one. We’ve announced it but have not officially launched it but I think it will do great: It’s a respectful destination space for plus size women who have had few positive shopping experiences in the past.

JENNINGS: Nordstrom did a great job with its new men’s store in NYC. The layout of the store is a bit quirky, and the brand adjacencies are sometimes dubious; however, it’s still quintessentially Nordstrom. They added just enough new and unexpected and paired that with the great classification merchandising for which they are known, so it all works. Moreover, there always seems to be a broad range of customers shopping: young and old, locals and tourists, urban and classic.

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REINVENTION: DEPARTMENT STORE

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BOLD MOVES

A visionary new team at Macy's is making waves. And sales gains.

By Karen Alberg Grossman Like the Titanic, the world’s largest department store had always seemed too big to fail. Unfortunately, success in today’s department store world has become increasingly complicated: Small is the new big, emerging brands are cooler than broadly distributed labels, touch screens trump human sellers and traditional rules of retail are changing at lightning speed.

Fortunately, under the sage direction of Macy’s chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette, a new team of visionary top execs has joined the ranks and the momentum is already palpable. Here, MR chats with the retailer's recently appointed president Hal Lawton and top menswear merchant Mark Stocker to learn how this iconic store is reinventing itself.

Hal Lawton: Never More Relevant

“ Exclusive product will ultimately contribute 40 percent to our total mix.”

—Hal Lawton, president, Macy's the Americas unit of eBay—a $35 billion operation. Lawton joined Macy’s in September 2017 with responsibility for the full Macy’s brand: merchandising, marketing, stores, operations, technology, strategy, analytics and the website.

He describes himself as a disciple of servant leadership: an inverted triangle where empowering your frontline

rollout right now, in close to 80 doors.

In our furniture departments, for example, customers can touch and feel the furniture they might want to buy and see how it will look in their home. This also applies to our

beauty departments: An AR-enhanced mirror can allow the viewer to see how various shades will look on her. We’ve also translated these types of experiences into our app so that by using your camera function (on an iPhone 7 or higher), our furniture can appear in your living room."

■ The expanded use of RFID. “The vast majority of product in our store will soon be RFID-enabled, meaning our associates can wave a wand and know what’s on display and what percent of the stock is backroom. Our associates check this several times weekly. We measure our stores on it; we hold our people accountable for keeping that number low. This ensures sizes and colors are available on the selling floor and makes the experience for our sellers far more efficient. We’re also excited about other ways to use RFID in the future: everything from theft detection to store navigation.”

■ A consistently strong online business: Macy’s invested in its website early on and can now boast 17 consecutive quarters of double-digit comps. Although Lawton declines to give figures for in-store vs. online sales (“It makes no sense since the two are so intertwined…”), Macys.com is consistently ranked among the top five or six online retailers in the country.

■ Market@Macy’s: The Market@Macys concept, for customers who love to discover new brands and experiences,

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

Hal Lawton fell in love with retail (after UVA business school and a four-year stint at McKinsey) during his 10-year tenure at Home Depot. There, he ran both the online business and then the merchandising operation; he left to run

leaders means they can better serve your customers. “Our ultimate goal is to stay in tune with (and ahead of) our customers, so my job is to make sure we’re evolving at the right pace and that everyone is philosophically aligned so we can think and act like one cohesive organization.”

Among the many new initiatives at Macy’s, Lawton is most excited about: ■ The acquisition of the independently owned Story boutique this past May, and the prospect of Story impacting the customer experience at Macy’s with the addition of its founder Rachel Shechtman to the Macy’s exec team. “We look forward to bringing some version of Story into Macy’s across a significant number of doors. We believe stores need to get more experiential, to create moments for their customers and to give them a reason to come back. We’re not counting on Story to be the entire solution but it’s a piece of it.”

■ The rollout of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

“We have the nation’s largest

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REINVENTION: DEPARTMENT STORE

features a rotating selection of unique items.

At present (November, December, January), Macy’s is showcasing a collaboration with Facebook featuring cool product, from about 100 e-commerce brands across nine Macy’s doors. In addition to adding excitement to the selling floor, the concept helps emerging brands reach new audiences.

■ More exclusive-to-Macy’s product that will ultimately contribute 40 percent to the mix including both private label and exclusive product within national brands.

■ A new customer loyalty program that’s a year old and going strong, especially since its recently added bronze level program allows non-Macy’s cardholders to get the benefits.

Sums up Lawton, “We’re merging the best of Macy’s history with new vision, new technology and new initiatives for the ultimate shopping experience. Our recipe is grounded in a healthy and vibrant brick & mortar business, a robust e-commerce business and a fantastic global app. We’re very happy with our store count (650 locations in 44 states plus more than 100 international locations via our website), we’ve reported positive comps for the past four quarters and we feel that Macy’s has never been more relevant.”

Mark Stocker: Fashion Focus

Dressed in fashionably distressed jeans and ultra-cool Nikes, the General Business Manager for Men's and Kids at Macy's looks very much like his new target customer:

joined Macy’s West as director of strategic planning and moved to New York with the My Macy’s initiative as national planning manager.”

Stocker describes how insecure he first felt with this position. “I’d never worked in the field; I didn’t know anything about store organization. But I was told that Macy’s encourages execs with multiple experiences to tackle new challenges. With 90 people all over the country reporting to me, I learned ‘on the job’ about communication, delegation, empowerment. I relied on and learned from my team which was the most important lesson of all. I didn’t know if I was doing it right but since the My Macy’s localization initiative was brand new, no one could say I was doing it wrong.…”

Insecurity overcome, Stocker is clearly enjoying his role as menswear’s top merchant. “We’ve taken the department store menswear model and reinvented it. We still cater to traditional consumers but have added fashion-forward ones by distorting the penetration of fashion. And we’re taking some big risks, not just in Herald Square but online and in many of our doors. Younger customers in particular are liking what they see, even in brands that we’ve had for a number of years.”

Asked for examples, Stocker cites Polo, Hilfiger, Calvin Klein. “The risks we’re taking with exclusive product from these brands is paying back. We’ve got to set ourselves apart, even within brands

“ I’ve found that customers, especially young customers, are not as brand loyal as they are classification-focused.”

—Mark Stocker, GBM men’s and kids stylish, sophisticated, just a bit edgy. It’s a refreshing change from the buttoned-up look to which most retail execs ascribe and a clear reflection of Mark Stocker’s philosophy of life, boldly displayed on his office wall: ‘Have the courage to live life the way you want to!’

A Pittsburgh native, Stocker graduated with a degree in finance, then worked in banking and institutional securities. “I liked but didn’t love it and was looking for a career to love. My two years at Kaufmann’s (Pittsburgh’s then preeminent department store) filled that niche, followed by stints at Gymboree and William-Sonoma. I then

the customer knows well.”

In addition, Stocker believes in focus, in cutting back assortments, sometimes by 20 to 30 percent. “It’s safer to take risks trying 10 different things but then you never get a good read because the message is watered down. When we stand behind something, we do it in a really meaningful way. Instead of 10, we’ll focus on three to five things that help us connect with that new customer.

And the reaction has been strong: we’re not walking customers; we’re bringing

in new ones!” Currently hot with Macy’s customers, old and new: activewear, the exclusive INC brand, classic categories from Polo and open-sell shoes. “We’ve had amazing results with an open-sell format for men’s and kids’ shoes. We still have a very well-developed dress shoe business but we’re seeing the mix skew toward fashion athletic. (Editor’s note: Stocker admits to personally owning 55-60 pairs of sneakers, forget all the dress shoes.…) We’re in Europe with the fashion office a few times a year, shopping collections and studying the retail landscape. We can’t be stagnant in driving our assortments: we’re constantly evolving the mix and distorting the penetration of fashion based, in part, on trends from Europe interpreted for the U.S. market.”

With tailored clothing still a major focus for Macy’s, Stocker sees much opportunity to get even more out of it. “Tailored for us is mostly a separates business with a growing fashion component; many of our clothing brands have added sportswear to their collections. We’re working on the right adjacencies, on incorporating tailored pieces into an overall lifestyle.”

On the other hand, he’s shifted denim, t-shirts and fleece to a classification approach. “These categories used to be merchandised by brand but this new approach allows the customer to see the full range of what we offer. We do the same for men’s shoes: if you want a black lace-up dress shoe, you can go to that section of the shoe department and see the entire assortment.

I’ve found that customers, especially young customers, are not as brand loyal as they are classificationfocused.” He offers himself as an example of this eclecticism: his wardrobe runs the gamut from Polo and Patagonia to All Saints and Scotch&Soda.

“I especially love the scarcity model: I try to get my hands on things that few to no one else might have.…”

Summing it up, Stocker declares that “consumers are changing more rapidly than ever. Our focus is to anticipate what they want next and to ensure that Macy’s is the first place they turn to to buy it.”

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STYLE REFINED, QUALITY UNMATCHED

RUNWELL CHRONO This luxury men’s chronograph combines classic style with versatile function. Fitted with a polished stainless steel case, this 47mm Runwell Chrono features a black dial punctuated with two sub dials and a calendar aperture. For work or play, it’s a watch you can rely on to keep you on time and up to date.

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REINVENTION

SHARE (AND SHARE WE LIKE)

As WeWork continues to expand its physical footprint, it’s adding brand extensions and fashion/retail collaborations. By Christopher Blomquist WeWork is no longer wee. Launched a mere nine years ago, this New York-based global leader in shared, communal, aesthetically pleasing office space has worked out very well—and very quickly. In September 2018 it outpaced JPMorgan and became the largest private tenant of office space in Manhattan, where it now occupies more than 5.3 million square feet across 50-plus (and counting) locations. It also holds that title in Washington, D.C. Ditto in London, after landing in the British capital only four years ago.

WeWork now has 268,000 members in 287 sites worldwide and will soon be present in 87 cities spanning 23 countries.

Like many a startup, the company is still operating at a loss, mostly because it continues to invest in further expansion. Its reported first half revenues for 2018 were a robust $763 million but overall losses came to $723 million. Still, that hasn’t prevented investors, such as Japan’s SoftBank, its biggest one, from recently valuing it at $45 billion, making WeWork the second most valuable U.S. startup after Uber.

WeWork, whose chief creative officer happens to be former menswear designer darling Adam Kimmel, has also been making fashion-business headlines of late.

In October 2017 it announced that it was acquiring the historic 676,000-squarefoot Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue flagship building from Hudson’s Bay for $850 million and that the storied department store would downsize its presence there to just three floors. A little over eight months later, Hudson’s Bay had a change of heart and decided it would exit the building

entirely, leaving WeWork with 150,000 square feet of prime, empty real estate with which to play. But rather than simply turn it over to additional rentable office space, WeWork has decided to stick with the original plan of keeping it as retail space.

“WeWork is preserving the basement, first and second floors for retail,” notes the company’s website. “During business hours, shoppers will once again walk through the iconic entryway, where the brass and bronze elements will be carefully restored.”

For now, WeWork is still very tightlipped about exactly what—or even what kind of—tenant might occupy the floors.

However, there’s a chance that the mystery retailer could be, well, itself, as WeWork has recently launched its own retail concept as part of its seemingly limitless diversification that now encompasses flexible living spaces (WeLive), a wellness club (RiseByWe), children’s schools (WeGrow), an app that encourages people with shared interests to socialize in real time (Meetup) and a technology training bootcamp (Flatiron School).

The new retail arm is named WeMrkt.

It debuted at the company’s 205 Hudson Street location in Manhattan in June 2018 and has since extended to three more in the city. “WeMrkt is our first premium marketplace and it’s all about our members, featuring more member products including healthy snacks, office necessities, We branded apparel and more,” the corporate communications office explains. A panel of judges chooses the store’s revolving monthly selection at pitch nights wherein WeWork member companies present their products,

which are assessed Shark Tank-style for creativity and innovation, capability (aka the sustainability of the business), impact and appearance/packaging. While most of the 10 monthly winners have included foodstuffs and other non-fashion items, the September 2018 WeMrkt did offer Blunt umbrellas and co-branded WeWork hoodies, T-shirts and trucker hats with Aviator Nation and tote bags with Utility Canvas. The plan is to expand the concept “both in the U.S. and internationally in the coming months.”

WeWork has also crossed paths with fashion by partnering with the women’s subscription rental clothing service Rent The Runway. The two announced in October 2018 that the former had installed drop-off boxes at 15 WeWork locations in six US cities—and that the program would most likely grow.

But even as it undergoes its own growth and evolution, the heart—or at least roots— of WeWork will always be its pioneering reinvention of the workplace that gives companies large or small the opportunity to rent an office by the month. It’s an offer that two of its longtime menswear-based tenants say has generally served them well.

“I love WeWork; we’ve been working out of a WeWork for four years,” says Jacob Wood, a former Macy’s buyer who launched Woodies Clothing, his online direct-to-consumer menswear collection of button-down shirts and chinos in 2014. Its headquarters are at WeWork’s 175 Varick Street building in New York. “Ultimately, I wanted a collaborative space, where I could meet new people, network with similar companies and have a physical space to

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meet new clients and host friends,” he adds.

Matteo Maniatty and Suwana Perry, co-owners of the contemporary wholesaled brand Descendant of Thieves, have rented space in the WeWork building in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District for six years. They tell a similar story. “I think it’s been beneficial because we’ve been able to network with people who are not in the business,” explains Perry. “We used an accountant on our floor and a lawyer on another. I think that makes you think out of the box because you deal with people you wouldn’t meet in a regular office because it’s a shared space.” Maniatty adds that they have used a fellow WeWorker graphic designer and architect they befriended in the building to help them design their newly opened standalone store on Bleecker Street and that, true to the communal spirit of the space, some of the work was done via barter. But not all their fellow tenants are as open to networking onsite and prefer to keep to themselves. “It’s what you put into it that you get out of it, in terms of being social,” says Maniatty.

The two also appreciate the flexibility that their month-to-month lease provides, which has allowed them to expand or shrink their required space depending on the size of their staff or the ever-changing business climate. Being able to set up temporary camp in a WeWork building while traveling overseas is another huge perk, they add.

Of course, no workplace will ever be 100 percent ideal, including WeWork.“I think the negative is that being there makes your brand look a little smaller and gives the appearance that you are more of a startup,” notes Maniatty. This is precisely why he’s now conducting all sales appointments at the store, where he can better express his brand’s story and aesthetic vision.

Wood concurs: “As we grow a little too big for WeWork, I’d love to have a standalone office space/showroom where we can brand everything and make the space our own. Maybe by the time we’re ready for the upgrade, WeWork will have a retail space offering that will cater to my needs.”

Maybe—and most likely—this evergrowing trailblazer will.

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REINVENTION

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CHALLENGING TRADITION

Retail veteran Rob Smith provides community and inclusion for an underserved demographic. By Stephen Garner Champion, Gypsy Sport, Dr. Martens, Soulland, Kinfolk, Steve Madden, Fila, Brand Black and State Bags are just a taste of what is offered in the store across various product categories like apparel, accessories, beauty and gifts. Retail prices range from $35 to $500.

“Our store is multifaceted, part retail, part community space, part experiential and completely gender-free,” maintains Smith. “We will serve as a hub for the community, creating a place to hang out, have fun and share collective ideas.”

Smith does community engagement well, hosting weekly events at the store ranging from panel discussions on how to build a brand, to information sessions on sexual health and even traditional retail events like trunk shows and charity fundraisers.

“Since most of us crave human connection and dialogue, but have lost some of that through social media, I wanted to make sure Phluid provides ample seating for reflecting and socializing and for special events to create a stronger sense of community,” says Smith.

“Additionally, there is a community space in the lower level, fully accessible to groups to share ideas and experiences in private, free of charge.”

Asked what brought him to open The Phluid Project, Smith said, “The Phluid Project is an opportunity for me to merge my profession with my passion. I’ve spent 30 years in retail and the past decade working with the Hetrick-Martin Institute,

empowering young people to live safe, open and thriving lives as LGBTQ people. With The Phluid Project, I’m able to wake up and do what I love...innovating in fashion and building a more connected and authentic world.”

“I’ve always wanted to create spaces for young people to really be themselves,” maintains Smith. “As a kid I didn’t have that, and I often think about how my life might have been different if I had the opportunity to explore my authentic identity sooner. Even now I’m still in a process of peeling back the layers of who I thought I should be and finding out who I really am. I want to give young people a safe space to truly express themselves.”

Asked what inspires him the most, Smith says, “I’m inspired by young people who have the courage and strength to live honestly and openly. The ‘Ph’ in Phluid represents the balance of masculine and feminine.

When this balance is realized, we will see our society reach its full potential.

The space that we have created allows each individual the opportunity to see what it feels like for them, knowing it will continue to evolve and change with each day.”

Smith concludes: “As the world continues to evolve, we should all strive to be a part of that change. That doesn’t just mean going along for the ride. It means being an active agent of change and a leader, moving things forward in a significant and meaningful way.”

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INCLUSION: one of the main driving principles behind the opening of New York City’s first gender neutral store last year.

Called The Phluid Project, this store stands for something more than just clothes: It's about creating an inclusive retail experience and community hub for gender-nonconforming and queer-identifying customers.

Retail veteran Rob Smith, who served more than 20 years at Macy’s along with stints at Victoria’s Secret and Haddad Brands, opened the doors to his 3,000-square-foot store in NoHo in March 2018 to appeal to this underserved segment within the burgeoning Gen Z market, which is poised to contribute $143 billion in spending power over the next four years.

This rising generation that Smith is reaching out to has proven, in various market studies and even just looking at social media, to reject socially prescribed labels. They overwhelmingly believe in people’s right to define themselves, and in the freedom to simply wear whatever clothes make them feel good—regardless of gender.

According to research done by Smith, 56 percent of Gen Z and 46 percent of Millennials don’t always buy clothes geared specifically toward their own gender; they choose to simply wear what makes them comfortable and helps express their personal style. And, according to the same research, 78 percent of young people say gender no longer defines people as it once did.

“We are not just a store, we are a movement, committed to challenging the ethos of the traditions of the past that inhibit freedom and self-expression,” says Smith. “Our world is not defined by binaries, and neither are we.”

So, if this store is genderless, how does Smith make his seasonal buys, you ask?

Well, he reaches out to inclusive brands and independent local designers that have universal sizing standards. Brands like

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TAILORED CLOTHING

TAILORED IN TRANSITION Retailers and manufacturers struggle with a continuing conundrum: how to sell more suits in a casual world. By Karen Alberg Grossman Despite much recent innovation in tailored clothing (new comfort and performance fabrics, speed to market, flexible sourcing, customization, technology to enhance both the design process and the shopping experience), tailored clothing is still a shrinking business. With wool prices up, dress codes still casual and no compelling new fashion direction (other than some exaggerated styles on the runways), maintaining unit sales is a challenge.

That said, merchants and manufacturers focusing on niche businesses (occasion dressing, made-to-measure, performance fabrics) are reporting notable gains.

In fact, performance fabrics are in particular demand of late due to the rising price of wool. Says Ben Onorato of www.honoursourcing.com, a Brand Advancement Specialist, “Since reaching a record high in September ’18, wool prices have dropped somewhat, but they’re still too high for the market to absorb or predict.

It’s time for retailers and manufacturers to fully embrace blended, innovative textiles that are engineered for performance and comfort and better cater to today’s modern consumer. Doing so could result in a 2030% cost savings, enabling companies to maintain or even elevate their margins.”

Explains Mickey Solomon of HMS International/Gladson Ltd., one of the largest purveyors of men’s fabrics in the U.S., “It’s tough to assess what will happen.

The last round was a double whammy: Increased prices from Australia (the only source for merino) plus the weakness of the dollar meant wool prices went up

20-25 percent in a year! Still, our industry has blinders on: We don’t appreciate what a bargain wool is. After around 1970, all worsted fabric (tropical or twill) was a set price until about two years ago. Today, 50 years later, it’s only 10 percent higher. We’re the quintessential example of deflation.”

(Editor’s note: According to Solomon, in today’s totally free market, prices are elastic.

The Chinese have been the biggest buyers for 20 years, consuming 75 percent of the world’s production of wool. Consumption by Italian mill owners, by comparison, is tiny.)

While volume-priced retailers and brands are increasing their penetration of blended fabrics, luxury merchants are

had considerable success with his new Zegna shops and, at the other end of the spectrum, opening price made-to-measure from Amsterdam-based Munro, giving Millennials their first taste of customization.

Also successful with his foray into entrylevel made-to-measure, Scott Shapiro from Syd Jerome Chicago sells Munro MTM suits at about $1,000 (2/$1,995) while still doing most of his business in luxury brands.

(His average suit ticket is $2,400; clients spend up to $6,000 for Brioni.) “What drives our clothing business is luxury, inventory and slimmer models. Our guys are noticing their suits look dated—coats too long, pants too baggy—so they’re shopping for something slimmer. We’ve found that younger guys like custom, which is why we brought in Munro. Sometimes it’s about fit: We’ve got workout guys with a 44 chest, 30-inch waist and big biceps (which, if they buy off the rack, ends up costing me $400 worth of tailoring that I can’t charge them for…). But often, the appeal of madeto-measure with young guys is not the fit but the touchscreen, allowing customers to personalize lapels, buttons, linings and more. Munro offers half-canvas, full-canvas and bespoke, made in China or Italy.

They’ve done a good job!”

“ The last round was a double whammy: Increased wool prices from Australia (the only source for merino) plus weakness in the dollar meant increases of 20-25 percent in a year!”

hesitant, with customers accustomed to pure wool. “The increased cost of wool is scary!” admits Jeff Farbstein at Harry Rosen. “It’s a big fight lately with our vendors—merino and cashmere prices are ridiculous! With China monopolizing the market, there’s not much to be done about it, but price increases are definitely impacting sales.” Farbstein confides that even made-to-measure, the fastest growing segment of his clothing business, has somewhat slowed, with flat sales this fall/ winter compared to six to seven percent increases this past spring. That said, he’s

—Mickey Solomon, HMS/Gladson According to Justin MacInerney at Gladson, growth in made-to-measure is also driven by limited model selection in off-the-rack offerings. “If you want DB models, three-piece suits or formalwear, you won’t easily find it off-the-rack. That’s why we’re undertaking a crusade to educate consumers to try something different. Even Men’s Wearhouse consumers are showing a growing appetite for customization.”

Indeed. Men’s Wearhouse now offers made-to-measure in both their Joseph Abboud label ($895 and up for Abboud’s canvas make, U.S. production, Italian piece

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Suit by BRUNELLO CUCINELLI.

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TAILORED CLOTHING

“Price increases are definitely impacting sales.” —Jeff Farbstein, Harry Rosen goods; $395 and up for JOE, now with a oneweek delivery option) and more recently in their Kenneth Cole Awearness brand, crafted in their exclusive temperature-regulating fabric ($795 retail and up with a contribution to war veterans with every suit purchase).

According to Tailored Brands, MTM is clearly the fastest-growing component of their business, with a good 20 percent geared to wedding parties. Remarkably, almost a third of Men’s Wearhouse’s customer base is now Millennials.

BOLD MOVES BY MANUFACTURERS At the wholesale level, clothing makers are doing what they can to jumpstart sales and compete with a growing number of direct sellers, both online and in homes and offices. Says Michael Parker from Lanier, “We all know at the macro level that men’s tailored clothing is contracting. However, we’re experiencing strong retail selling over last year by bringing in great brands at a great value.” At Paisley & Gray, Vince Marrone says formalwear and fashion separates remain top sellers; going forward, they’re adding premium wool and limited edition product to the roster. “What’s needed is fun and excitement; our mission is to create the unexpected.”

Notes John Tighe at Peerless, “Guys want more performance in their clothing: stretch, antimicrobial, stain-resistance. So we’re using blends and/or natural stretch fibers in every tier of the business even better. Other recent initiatives include expanding our brand portfolio (Hilfiger, Robert Graham), the full takeover and update of Hart Schaffner Marx, and the expansion of Tallia and TailoRed. We’re also growing our replenishment

programs, offering state-of-the-art analytics and increased capacity in our Vermont warehouse.

Peerless has always excelled in sourcing: As the world continues to change— tariffs, wage increases, raw material prices—we’ve become very nimble and disciplined in our product development and production.”

David Schuster, VP at Paul Betenly, details recent changes that include: ramping up in-stock offerings, adding more casual, garmentwashed items, adding salespeople to the team and introducing full lifestyle collections for their Weekender and Traveler series.

“By increasing our in-stock position,” says Schuster, “we can grow our customer base. Specialty store merchants today want to partner with their vendors; our investment in in-stock

“ We’re using blends and/or natural stretch fibers in every tier of the business even better.”

—John Tighe, Peerless

fashion reflects our commitment to these partnerships.”

Also a believer in partnerships, Geoff Schneiderman says Eleventy is working with their upscale specialty store accounts to open modern Eleventy shop-in-shops or, in some cases, adjacent stores. “We’ve done four so far, and plan 10 to 20 more in the next two years.” The company is maintaining its focus on sportcoats (about 40 percent of the mix); their best-selling suede-trim knit sportcoat still retails for $595, a ticket that hasn’t changed in the three years they’ve been in business. The brand is also reconfiguring its sizing for U.S. customers. Admits Schneiderman, “We go up to a size 50 jacket and a 40 waist pant but these sizes are rarely in stock; we’re working to fix that!”

At Corneliani, style director Stefano Gaudioso Tramonte is honest about current challenges. “I think brands will become increasingly powerless in terms of influencing the way people dress, and tailored clothing is for sure the most difficult category to revitalize. For the FW19 collection, we’ve worked to lighten our garments using exclusive fabrics. We’re focused on street-tailoring, using different fabric technologies for performance and comfort.

Our main missions are ‘service’ and ‘experience.’ Our new digital platform and sales training programs were launched last year, our new store concept was presented in Rome in July, and

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On left: Suit by COLE HAAN. Right: Coat and sportcoat

by TALLIA

MR’s Top Tips to Increase Profits in Tailored Clothing

■ Invest in replenishment programs, especially for basics. Most vendors now offer them; it’s the best way to keep inventory low and dollars open for fresh fashion.

■ Highlight one or two new fashion messages each season, in store and online. For fall 19, this could be DB’s,

performance fabrics, knit sportcoats. Don’t choose what everyone else is showing, rather what you truly love.

■ Integrate tailored pieces with sportswear wherever possible to communicate a modern way to dress.

■ Hire enthusiastic sellers, pay them well and give them a generous clothing allowance to wear the newest looks.

After all, these will be your ambassadors, in and out of the store.

■ Consider a focus on formalwear. Nothing brings up the average sale like wedding parties.

■ Train your sellers to be storytellers, to communicate the magic of each special brand.

■ Increase your penetration of MTM. Young guys are buying into the customization trend and young guys are your future.

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

new partnerships will create the ultimate retail experience in key markets.”

Arnold Silverstone, creative director for Samuelsohn and Hickey Freeman, speaks to the many ways his brands are evolving: more focus on custom (including this year’s launch of SID, Samuelsohn’s interactive design technology); more categories and diverse product offerings; a stronger focus on digital (including marketing, design, and storytelling to communicate sustainability, social causes and corporate responsibility); better flexibility in operations for faster turn and service; and much research into new technologies in everything from customer touch points to fabrics to production.

“We want to differentiate ourselves as the leader in value-priced luxury clothing,” he concludes.

But are any of these moves enough to inspire purchasing by customers who no longer wear suits that often? Sums up Tramonte at Corneliani: “Tailored clothing will not disappear; it’s just a matter of how it will evolve and how good we’ll be at attracting a new consumer. What’s needed: new fabrics (like jersey and technical), comfortable shapes, and lots of storytelling to communicate that wearing a suit is COOL!” Although most U.S. retailers are still fully invested in the slim suit models they’ve been selling for the past several years, designer Joseph Abboud suggests it’s time to aggressively promote something new.

“Suits can’t get any shorter or skinnier!” he observes. “To me, the shrunken suit looks dated; it’s been post-peak for a while now and guys popping out of their suits look silly and uncomfortable. I believe in pleats, in a little more fullness and flow but still following a man’s body shape (and always in classic menswear fabrics). In other words, suits should be fluid but not the exaggerated gender-fluid styles certain fashion runways are promoting. I worry that these runway designers are losing some brain cells; I don’t think too many men are clamoring to dress like women.…”

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ROUNDUP

REINVENTION GETS PERSONAL

Menswear execs reveal how they’re changing their businesses, and their lives, for 2019 and beyond.

Tom Kalenderian, Barneys

“2019 will bring more opportunities for us to modernize the business and focus on what’s important to the next generation of consumers. As a manager of an exciting team of young, bright stars of the future, I see this equally as a great time to get to know them better and understand what’s important to them and how I can best mentor them with positive and uplifting motivation.”

Kent Gushner, Boyds Philadelphia

“This question is coming to me one year too late as we’ve just finished reinventing the store in terms of construction, layout and merchandising.

Therefore, I’d have to say that 2019 will be dedicated to ironing out the wrinkles of our new store and continuing to focus on modernizing, aligning both the culture and the organizational structure with our new vision. As for reinventing my life, fortunately I don’t need to: I’m happy with, and grateful for, the life I have.”

Lizette Chin, UBM Fashion

“For me it’s not about reinvention and more about evolving. Personally: I’m trying to live my life according to my favorite meditation app, CALM: ‘May you be happy; may you be healthy; may you be safe; may you be at peace.…’ Professionally: My goal is to bring a sense of community, fun and commerce back to our business. We need it!”

Tom Ott, Saks Off 5th

“I’m a runner and sometimes think there’s overlap between my 2019 goals for the Saks Off 5th business and my personal goals: to push forward and reach new milestones. It’s an exciting time for Saks Off 5th and the retail market as a whole: The challenge isn’t so much reinvention, but rather how we stay competitive with more fashion and trend coupled with exceptional value in key product categories. In 2019, Saks OFF 5TH will launch new designers and collaborations; I’m truly excited to run with them.”

Jeff Farbstein, Harry Rosen

“We’re getting really serious about the kind of internet experience we offer our customers on our site. We can’t invest much more in our stores because we’ve renovated them all already so all money is now going into our website. So watch out! Our client engagement online will soon be comparable to in-store.… As for my personal mission: It’s to do more hanging out with young people. And to perhaps read a book from cover to cover, something I haven’t done in about 52 years.”

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Dan Leppo, EVP Menswear, Bloomingdale’s

“My focus has always been my career and family. In this next chapter, I want to give back to society in appreciation of all the blessings I’ve been given. I’ve recently gotten involved (both financially and timewise) with a few medical research projects that will hopefully have a meaningful impact on future lives. To witness what some of these scientists are doing is really incredible.

I hope to find other ways to inspire, teach and give back in the coming years, all while continuing to search for that next hot item, special fabric or new menswear concept.”

Raffi Shaya, Raffi

“From a business perspective, we’re always reinventing: that’s our mantra. Since I’m now closer to 100 than to 50, I try to enjoy every day and spread positive energy to others. My holiday gift to MR readers is this tip: Every morning, take a very hot shower followed by two minutes of a very cold shower. It’s an electric shock, a wake-up call.

The increased blood circulation will stimulate your brain and keep you young and happy forever.”

George and Oscar Feldenkreis, Perry Ellis International

George: “Having just taken our company private, we look forward to reinventing the business by investing for long-term growth.

I also look forward to hiring a few talented top-level executives so I can spend more time writing my book and traveling.”

Oscar: “After 13 very stressful months, I look forward to watching ESPN without switching channels to check stock prices.”

Allison Basile, Age of Wisdom

“Working in fashion, we’re constantly challenged to reinvent ourselves. In 2019, I will let go of the fear of stepping outside the lines when it comes to design. I will let emotions dictate rationality when being creative. I will adapt to the motto of being ‘all in’ as I approach the backside of life. We’re in the digital age where time moves much faster. Ideas need to be expressed as they evolve with less worry about being perfect.

This year, personally and professionally, will be all about taking risks and making bolder, more vulnerable statements.”

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

“Bloomingdale’s is constantly reinventing our business: Just when you think you know everything about us, we change the whole store!

What I’m most excited about are some great new footwear brands like Golden Goose; our new ‘Wardrobe’ concept featuring product from K. Red, Moorer and Altea; as well as the exclusive launch of a private label sportswear brand. On a personal level, I’m reinventing myself as a 6-foot-tall 40 long. Maybe soft spoken and patient while I’m at it.…”

Arnold Silverstone, Samuelsohn/Hickey Freeman

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ROUNDUP

Richard Binder, Mavi/34 Heritage

Jim Foley, Woodbury Mens Shop

Ken Giddon, Rothmans

Larry Stemerman, TailorByrd

Gina Zangrillo, Darien Sport Shop

Erin Hawker, agentry pr nyc

Geoff Schneiderman, Eleventy

Scott Ruerup, Peter Millar

Rick and Jim Penn, Puritan Cape Cod

Bruce Pask, Bergdorf Goodman

“Reinvention is the perfect word for 2019.

We’re rolling out a complete rebrand touching all aspects of 34 Heritage; even our showroom is getting a makeover. As for me, maybe I’ll actually get some more sleep?! #worklifebalance”

“In 2019, I hope to find the time to take off my hat!”

“Travel is the key to reinvention. Getting out of the store allows me to experience new places and cross paths with new people. This inspires me to focus back on our product, our technology and our great team. Whether it’s a trip to San Francisco, Copenhagen, Fire Island or Venice, I’m energized when I get back home.”

“I’m working hard at improving the connection between our brand and better independent stores.

This starts with the fact that we don’t sell online in North America: our website asks customers for a zip code so we can direct them to the nearest specialty store.

We never take this business for granted and truly appreciate every order.”

“In terms of business reinvention, we’re giving more responsibility in 2019 to our female colleagues. They just do a better job! Personally, I’m going to switch to rooting for the Yankees; all this Red Sox winning is getting boring. #never”

“We are fully immersed in leading our customers towards an ever-evolving sense of style by breaking down perennial ideas of apparel, reimagining their purpose and providing unique value to one’s lifestyle aspirations. As for reinventing my life? It seems my kids are doing that for me.”

“For TailorByrd, we’re staying bright and happy with new cheerful prints. We’re also expanding our international sales for 2019, which is my mission both personally and professionally.”

“2019 marks our centennial year so we’re getting out of our comfort zone.

Along with a new rebranding campaign and the completion of a three-year renovation of our Hyannis flagship store, we’re continually looking for new opportunities to stay relevant with our customers and deliver a memorable shopping experience.”

“Our mission is to surprise and delight our customers with a curated assortment of the latest trends and new brands.”

“For me, reinvention means continuing on a path that values expansive thinking and boundless curiosity, then following where that leads.”

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INTRODUCING THE

new

-mag.com MR IS THE INDUSTRY’S HUB FOR THE LATEST BREAKING MENSWEAR NEWS AND FASHION TRENDS

While you are there, sign up for our daily e-newsletter and your magazine subscription.

Follow us on social media at @

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MARKETING

MARKETING MATTERS Social media tips for retailers in 2019.

By Laurie Schechter

Unless you inhabit a planet other than Earth, you know the enormous power that social media wields in influence and opinion. What should retailers be doing in 2019 to benefit?

Social media is a potent and multifaceted tool to grow brand awareness and sales. Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet or magic wand, no universal onesize-fits-all handbook. There are, however, general guidelines that can optimize your foray into social media, whatever your level of expertise. And trends to note for 2019.

GENERAL GUIDELINES BRAND IDENTITY: Step one is to pinpoint the DNA of your brand or store, preferably in one sentence. What is your mission? What distinguishes you from your competition?

What do you do best?

BUYER PERSONA: Who is your target customer? Best to define your audience by age, gender, income, career, geographic location. Are they homeowners, have kids?

What problems do they want solved and most importantly, who are the top-paying, most loyal members? Facebook’s Audience Insights is an excellent tool for profiling your brand audience.

ENGAGEMENT: While building the bottom line is the ultimate goal, social media is, after all, about networking. Building relationships and brand footprint, establishing trust and brand loyalty, and genuinely engaging with your customer will ultimately lead to increased sales. Valuable relationships thrive on quality engagement. Do not buy likes, followers, an audience. Do. Not. Ever. In fact, platforms such as Instagram are actively closing out these avenues altogether.

PLAN: The one constant in all retailing is the known calendar—fixed events such as holidays and annual sales. Sketch out a yearly calendar that maps all events and corresponding content. Pencil in the what, where (which platform) and when (how often you plan to post). Planning provides a framework you can fill in with parties, flash sales, charity initiatives, product launches, etc. Establish a planning schedule at least three months out.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT TOOLS: These tools are useful to schedule posts in advance, engage on multiple platforms, follow and unfollow, get detailed performance reports, find influencers, etc. Regardless of the size of your organization and whether or not you have a dedicated marketing/social media team, the ability to bring social media responsibilities together into one management system is invaluable. Free and

paid options are available from reputable providers including Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Sendible, eClincher, Social Pilot, CoSchedule, Edgar, Post Planner and Later.

MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE: There’s no reason to be clueless as to what your audience is loving and hating, liking and sharing, clicking on and ignoring. Businesses have analytical tools available everywhere—use them to inform your strategy, content creation and posting schedules.

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS FOR 2019 REESTABLISHING TRUST: 2018 was a damaging year for trust on social media. Fake news, fake followers, data breaches came together to erode social media’s credibility.

According to Edelman, “Sixty percent of people no longer trust social media companies.” Intimate and more personal human interactions are trending over celebrity influencers and media. Engaging meaningfully with a passionate but smaller community sharing valuable insights holds more significant value. Twitter chats, Facebook Groups (public, private and secret), live Q&As and Facebook Live are all useful methods. Live video particularly

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on Snapchat. That’s more than 1 billion combined. The migration from text-based, desktop-designed platforms to mobileonly is important, allowing users to share experiences of the moment and on the fly.

Notably, it seems that raw and real Stories play better. Hootsuite estimates four out of five major brands are currently on Stories.

Experiment with them, use them to create how-tos, take your audience behind-thescenes, or serve them with Q&As. Try using AR (augmented reality), GIFs and GIF stickers with the Stories cameras on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Not happy with a Story disappearing in 24 hours? Use Instagram Highlights to keep select Stories for as long as you want. Be an early adopter of Stories on Facebook since they haven’t yet caught on as heavily there and Facebook plans a significant investment including Stories Ads. Currently being tested: a full rollout of 5- to 15-second video ads.

MICROINFLUENCERS: The high cost and ubiquity of Influencers with a capital “I” (along with their impeded trust factor) has made micro-influencers, those with 10,000 or fewer followers, the new favorites. They come across as more honest and authentic (another important buzzword) with more engaged followings and, according to Social Media Today, “are often considered experts

in their niche.” They can have a broad reach or be local, depending on your business.

There’s an opportunity as well to make them your exclusive brand ambassadors assuming they’re independent of other brand contracts.

MESSAGING AND CHATBOTS: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, QQ and Skype combined boast nearly 5 billion monthly active users, more than all the traditional social networks worldwide.

Users are shifting from public to private spaces, spending more time on messaging than on sharing news on social. A 2018 Facebook survey of 8,000 people found direct messaging with a company increased a respondent’s confidence about a brand. Messaging provides high-value conversations. WhatsApp’s release of its business API in August 2018 allows businesses to respond to customers for free within 24 hours. Build your own bot to answer simple questions, link to your FAQs page or allow for immediate conversation with your customer to close a sale. Direct messaging on Twitter or on Facebook Messenger is an effective customer service vehicle and another avenue for social media campaign promotions.

There’s much more, of course, so stay tuned to Marketing Matters in future issues of MR magazine.

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

gives a brand more opportunity to engage an audience and build trust and loyalty.

Facebook’s enabling allows Facebook Pages to join Groups (which is now in beta), while a new feature, Watch Party— which lets Facebook Groups users view, comment and react to videos together— reaffirms the company’s increased focus on Groups and the power of video. Use an easy-to-remember branded hashtag to engage a focused following around a substantive subject. Enlist UGC (usergenerated content) to post and share using that hashtag and make your audience an engaged partner. Be transparent regarding data collection and sponsored content.

Respond in a timely matter to customer interactions, address problems, explain manufacturing and pricing, own up to mistakes.

STORYTELLING: Stories, Snapchat’s invention of vertical, disappearing videos, is now growing 15 times faster than feed-based sharing. Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox predicts Stories will soon outpace feeds within the next year as the predominant sharing method among friends. The daily active users stats are impressive. TechCrunch reports 150M on Facebook Stories, 300M on Instagram Stories, 450M on WhatsApp Status, 70M on Facebook Messenger Stories and 191M

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FOOTWEAR

FANCY FOOTWORK As sneakers continue to be shaped by streetwear and athletic influences, more retro styles­­—like the hi-top­­—are seeing a resurgence. As for dress shoes, the double-monk boot slip-on loafers are having a moment.

By Stephen Garner

Clockwise from top right: MAGNANNI; TO BOOT; BRUNO MAGLI; NOAH WAXMAN

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Clockwise from top right: DIOR MEN’S; FILLING PIECES; ALEXANDER MCQUEEN; BALENCIAGA

MR MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2019

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ACCESSORIES

MOST WANTED

We’ve scoured the market for some of the best and most unique accessories that will bring newness to your store.

Check out our guide for the hottest sunglasses, leather goods, grooming products and ties. By Stephen Garner

20 B

The s

Clockwise from top right: VERSACE; GIORGIO ARMANI; SALVATORE FERRAGAMO; PERSOL; CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC

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R

Wood Underwear® Underwear, Undershirts & Lounge Wear for Men

woodunderwear.com 310.339.4355 info@woodunderwear.com also on NuOrder.com

Made in Italy

LATEST STYLES WILL BE FEATURED AT THE LAS VEGAS SHOE SHOW FN PLATFORM AND THE CHICAGO COLLECTIVE IN FEB 2019

toscanausa.com | customercare@toscanausa.com | 1.718.457.8900

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ACCESSORIES

Clockwise from top right: GREY NEW YORK GREY NEW ENGLAND bucket bag; DUNHILL pouch; ETTINGER portfolio; TROUBADOUR weekender; TORINO belt; MARK CROSS messenger bag; TRAFALGAR belt; DUCHAMP belt; CLOSED notebook; DUCHAMP wallet

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WWW.RANDOLPHUSA .COM

23K Gold Concorde with Blue Sky Flash Mirror SkyTecâ„¢ Lite Lens - CR169 Visit us on online. #MyRandolphs

MADE FOR THOSE WHO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

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ACCESSORIES

Left to right: DIPTYQUE candle; BEEKMAN 1802 milk peel; MOLTON BROWN shower gel; BÁLLA body powder; HIMS shampoo; POLISHED BY DR. LANCER moisturizer; SATURDAYS NYC body soap. Front: SATURDAYS NYC shaving cream; FRÉDÉRIC MALLE cologne

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WWW.MR-MAG.COM/ SUBSCRIBE Since 1990, retailers, designers, menswear execs and fashion insiders have turned to MR Magazine for accurate information, insightful analysis, innovative ideas and trend spotting, as well as an inside look at the people who drive the menswear business.

MR (USPS 7885) Published 4 times/year by Wainscot Media, 110 Summit Ave., Montvale, NJ 07645. Shae Marcus, Publisher; Karen Alberg Grossman, Editor. Subscription Price: $34.00 US. Filing Date: November 1, 2018; Issue Date for Circulation Data: December 2018. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: Total # of copies: 17,477; Outside County paid/requested mail subscriptions: 0; In- County paid/requested mail subscriptions: 11,116; Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid or requested distribution outside USPS: 0; Requested copies distributed by other mail classes through the USPS: 0. Total paid and/or requested circulation: 11,116; Outside County nonrequested copies: 0; In-County nonrequested copies: 0; Nonrequested copies distributed through the USPS by other classes of mail: 0; Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail: 6,009.

Total nonrequested distribution: 6,009; Total distribution: 17,125; Copies not distributed: 352; Total: 17,477; Percent paid and/ or requested circulation: 64.9%; No. Copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: Total # of copies: 15,000; Outside County paid/requested mail subscriptions: 0; In-County paid/requested mail subscriptions: 9,917; Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid or requested distribution outside USPS: 0; Requested copies distributed by other mail classes through the USPS: 0. Total paid and/or requested circulation: 9,917; Outside County nonrequested copies: 0; In- County nonrequested copies: 0; Nonrequested copies distributed through the USPS by other classes of mail: 0; Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail: 4,925. Total nonrequested distribution: 4,925; Total distribution: 14,842; Copies not distributed: 158 Total: 15,000; Percent paid and/or requested circulation: 66.8%.

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SUBSCRIBE

DON’T MISS AN ISSUE— SUBSCRIBE TODAY AT

JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY!

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK  @MRMAGONLINE SEE OUR PHOTOS ON INSTAGRAM  @MRMAGONLINE

12/21/18 1:55 PM

ACCESSORIES

Left to right: TASSO ELBA; RYAN SEACREST DISTINCTION; TASSO ELBA; THE TIE BAR. Lapel flowers by FLEUR’D PINS

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CONTEMPORARY SPORTSWEAR, ACCESSORIES AND FOOTWEAR FOR MEN

CLASSIC TO LIFESTYLE BETTER MENSWEAR

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TRETORN

EDEN PARK MOORE & GILES

SOL ANGELES

ABOUT UBM LEFT PAGE 2.indd 1

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BRANDS

An A-to-Z listing of emerging design talent, sartorial influences, and eclectic points of view for menswear.

7 for all Mankind

BOCA MMXII

Abbott NYC

Bogner

Ace & Everett

Borsalino

Age of Wisdom

Brackish

Alan Paine Knitwear

Brax Feel Good

Alashan Cashmere

Bresciani 1970

Alchemy Equipment

Calabrese 1924

Alden

Carmina Shoemaker

Alfred Sargent

Cashmere Outfitters

Allsize Company AS

Chelsey Imports

Amanda Christensen/ Wigens Hat Co.

Christopher Lena

Amedeo Ferrante SRL

With each new NY Men’s comes an influx of emerging design talent, sartorial influences, and eclectic points of view for menswear. From elevated contemporary and luxury brands to the latest trend-driven fashion and denim, NY Men’s is an opportunity to access new apparel, accessories and footwear brands in one curated marketplace.

This January marks the launch of N:OW at PROJECT in New York, a progressive platform for culturally relevant brands. The show will also emphasize MRKET, with newly expanded international pavilions like Made in Italy and BRITS IN NEW YORK. Plus, January’s show will offer brands and buyers the opportunity to connect and network with digital tastemakers in the menswear space.

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Andrea Bossi/Italwear Arcuri Ties Arnau Shirtmaker Arugaw Aston Leather Atlanta Mocassin Atomic Mission Gear Autumn Cashmere Baade II

Chrysalis City Sport Caps Coat of Arms Codis Maya Confezioni Gallia SRL Conhpol Corrente Dalmine 1952 Daniello De Ma Pelle Italia SRL

Bagutta

Dents Heritage Collection

Barbour

Derek Rose

Barker Shoes

Desoto

Baroni

Di Bello by Fontani

Bed Stu

Dion Neckwear

Bellroy

DL1961 Premium Denim

Belts + di Piazza Stefano

Dolcepunta

Belvedere

Duno

Benson

EDEN PARK

Bentley Cravats Corp

Edward Armah

Berragamo / Carrucci

Edward Green

Bertigo USA

Emanuel Berg

Berwich

Empire Clothing

Bespoke Factory

Enrico Mandelli

Bills Khakis

En-Soi/Perre

Blank NYC

ES

Blujacket

Ettinger

BMW Studio

Eyebobs

12/19/18 11:57 AM

WOLF & SHEPHERD

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BRANDS

An A-to-Z listing of emerging design talent, sartorial influences, and eclectic points of view for menswear. (cont. from previous spread) Fidelity Denim

Lacuna Homme

Fisher + Baker

Ledbury

Fliteless

Left Coast Tee

Fox Umbrellas

Lief Horsens

Foxy Lab

Linksoul

Frame

Liverpool

Fray

Loake Shoemakers

FTC Cashmere

Loft604

Fundamental Coast

Lords of Harlech

Gilded Age

Luerown

Gionfriddo International

M. Singer

g-lab Gmbh

Maglificio Mora SAS

Good Man Brand

Majestic International

Goorin Bros.

Marcello Sport

Grayers

Maurizi S.R.L.

Grenfell

Mavi

Gruppo Bravo

Mayser Headwear

Halsey 44

Mey Story

HESTRA

Meyer-MMX

Hickey Freeman Co.

Missani Le Collezioni/ BNR Leather

HiSO Holston + Hayes Hommard Huffer Hush Puppies iDesign Ingram Inverni Italian Trade Commission J & M Est. 1850 JACHS NY Jan Leslie SCHNEIDERS SALZBURG

HAILLEY H

Jimmy Sales John Smedley Limited Johnston & Murphy Johnstons of Elgin Joseph Cheaney & Sons Judger Kenneth Cole Productions Kinross

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Mitchell Evan Mizzen + Main Mododoc Moore & Giles Myths Naadam Nipal SRL Norwegian Wool Opinion Privé Original Paperbacks Oxford Lads P448 Pacific Silk PAIGE Pair of Thieves Palazzo Sartoriale Pantherella & Scott Nichol Paolo Albizzati Paolo Vitale di F.lli Forleo Srl

12/19/18 11:59 AM

ROTHCO

Coming off of a successful launch in Las Vegas, N:OW at PROJECT is a creative environment built for fashion and culture enthusiasts. This incubator for inspiration will highlight culturally relevant brands that drive fashion forward, while remaining commercially viable.

N:OW will feature fashion forums and trend presentations curated by WGSN, brand installations, food/beverage, daily happenings and exclusive events.

For the complete schedule, please visit: ubmfashion.com

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BRANDS

An A-to-Z listing of emerging design talent, sartorial influences, and eclectic points of view for menswear. (cont. from previous spread) Paraboot

STANTT

Parajumpers

Stitch Note

Patrick Assaraf

Stolen Riches

Pattern SRL

Stone Rose

Paul Betenly/Aristo

Strapped Los Angeles

Peerless Clothing

Sutoris snc

Peter Barton

Swet Tailor

PHIL PETTER

SWISH & SWANK

Psycho Bunny

T&T Tardia Textile Project SRL

Raffi Raga Man Rails Raleigh Denim Workshop Ranger Station Rapport London Remy Leather Retro Brand RHE HatCo Rhone Richard Harris Robert Talbott Footwear Robert Zur Rock Revival Ross Graison Rudsak Collection S.M.N Saint Andrews SPA Santo Stefano Di Italo Ferretti Schneiders Salzburg Seaward & Stearn London SEM SRL Sepol Serge Blanco Sigotto Silver Star Silvio Fiorello Sock It to Me Sol Angeles Southwick Clothes

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Tallia Orange Tateossian Tretorn The British Apparel Collection The People Vs. Tiglio Tiki SRL Torras Of Spain Trands USA Trask Tretorn Troubadour Goods True Grit Trybus Group Tyler Boe UGG Ugo Vasare Velvet by Graham & Spencer Villa Delmitia Vince Viyella W. Kleinberg Wilde Vertigga Wolf & Shepherd Wool & Co. Yongzheng Tailor Shop U.S.A. Listing as of 12/12/18.

For an up-to-date listing, visit ubmfashion.com.

12/19/18 12:01 PM

JANUARY 20-22, 2019 JACOB JAVITS CENTER, NYC

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS SHOW HOURS

N:OW FORUMS

MRKET CLUBROOM

Curated by WGSN, N:OW Forums set the stage for what’s new, now and next in men’s fashion through presentations and panel discussions.

Sunday: 9-6 | Monday: 9-6 | Tuesday: 9-4

MRKET, Level 1, Hall 1A MRKET Clubroom, Booth #845

A place to congregate outside the booth hosted by MR Magazine, MRKET Clubroom is our custom experience for the modern gentleman paying homage to the legacy of the menswear community.

MRKET AMBASSADORS

MRKET, Level 1, Hall 1A MRKET Photo Studio, Booth #857

Head over to the photo studio at MRKET Clubroom and engage with some of menswear’s most dapper enthusiasts as they style looks and create content featuring the brands from the show floor.

Featured Ambassadors include: Adam Gonon | adamgonon.com | @adamgonon Men’s Style Pro | mensstylepro.com | @mensstylepro The Cuff | thecuff.co | @thecuff.co + more

NEIGHBORHOODS Elevated Contemporary Designer Collections

A Curated Selection of Apparel, Accessories, Home Goods and Apothecary

Premium Denim for Men

A Community that Builds Together and Drives What’s Next in Fashion

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PROJECT, Level 1, Hall 1B, N:OW Stage, Booth #108

COOL HUNTING X PROJECT PROJECT, Level 1, Hall 1B COOL HUNTING Space, Booth #403

PROJECT has teamed up with award-winning publication COOL HUNTING to help you shop and have a little fun along the way. The Cool Hunt is our first-ever scavenger hunt designed to connect, make discoveries, collect prizes, and more. www.coolhunting.com | @coolhunting

THE COOL HUNT

PROJECT, Level 1, Hall 1B COOL HUNTING Space, Booth #403

The Cool Hunt is on. Join us in a scavenger hunt for brand discovery on the PROJECT floor. Head to the COOL HUNTING space to pick up the curated map, uncover helpful hints and learn how to mark down your findings as you shop.

Contemporary Footwear for Men

Research, Discover and Connect with French Menswear Brands

British Menswear Featuring Heritage and Sartorial Apparel and Accessories

The Finest in Italian Apparel, Footwear and Accessories

12/19/18 12:02 PM

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12/19/18 2:04 PM

FASHION

WEEKEND ESCAPE Whether you’re in the city or at a bed-and-breakfast just outside of town, these looks reflect a modern, relaxed style.

As rules for dressing continue to morph in the menswear world, more and more athleticinfluenced pieces have crept into our daily wardrobes. Some may call it “streetwear,” but this category is “everyday wear.” Now is the time to be adventurous in your merchandise mix.

Escape from the norm and try something new.

By Stephen Garner Photography by Zach Alston Grooming by Chih Jen Hsueh Fashion Assistant: Shane Reynolds

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BOSS

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FASHION

On Left: VERSACE; On Right: FENDI

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FASHION

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On Left: Jacket, Pants by BRAND BLACK; Denim Jacket

by LEVI’S; Sneakers by FENDI On Right: Jacket, Pants and Sneakers by BRAND BLACK; Shirt by MARNI

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FASHION

On Left:Shirt and Pants

by NECESSITY SENSE; Sneakers by MONCLER On Right: Cardigan, Shirt, and Trousers by NECESSITY SENSE; Sweater by SUNSPEL; Sneakers by GOLDEN GOOSE

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FASHION

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On Left: Jacket and Trousers

by TODD SNYDER; Shirt by NECESSITY SENSE; Sneakers

by GOLDEN GOOSE On Right: Jacket by ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA COUTURE; Polo by ROWING BLAZERS

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FAMILY MATTERS

SEA CHANGE A family legacy gone; a relationship reinvented.

You never want to tell anybody you’re hearing “voices.” They’ll think you’re exaggerating. Lying. Or nuts. But that’s what happened.

Late one afternoon I saw my father walking out on Sea Island beach. A steady, determined gait, bent forward slightly.

Rumpled golf hat. Windbreaker. Worsening macular degeneration and Parkinson’s disease had not stopped him taking daily walks, so it wasn’t surprising to see him heading southward, toward the broad expanse beyond the villas and the sea wall.

Among sprinting sandpipers, whirling laughing gulls.

Some things are inexplicable. I got up from where I sat, and walking at first, then, remembering how fast he walked—a pace to leave you behind—I jogged, then ran. To catch up. Things with my father were, well, fraught. I was not the Choate-PrincetonHarvard Law son he’d been expecting; his disapproval haunted me. Now there hung between us an unapproachable subject: the demise of our four-generation-old manufacturing business. The disappearance of a family legacy. On my watch.

By Nick Hilton

Nevertheless I ran. Resenting the pace he kept, a metaphor for how he lived.

Oblivious. Alone. As I came up behind him I heard a voice. A voice? Come on. I’d made futile attempts to make peace, to disentangle a web of unconscious complications.

“Don’t,” the voice said. I swear. “Don’t say anything!”

I didn’t. I came up alongside and he turned to see me, his neck stiffened by the Parkinson’s. He smiled. “Oh. Hey there,” he said. “Hey Dad.” We walked. The sun was low, a golden light on the dunes and scrubby brush on the shore, lighting my father’s 86-year-old face with a soft flattering glow. We walked in silence on the flat, dark sand.

He asked, “How’s Kenny Bates doing?

Do you see him?” Bates, a Scottish cloth agent, sold to Norman early on, then paid special attention to me, teaching me most of what I knew about textiles. A bridge between us. A friend to us both.

“Not so good.” I mentioned Kenny’s worsening dementia. “Too bad,” Norman said. Then, “What about Richard Grieco?

Southwick still going?”

We spoke about new trends, old competitors, customers, suppliers. A wisecracking, sarcastic humor we shared.

We laughed. No differences of opinion.

Nothing below the surface. No tension.

After a while he said, “Boy, it’s wonderful that you’re doing so well with your store. Really amazing. Langrock’s. The English Shop. All gone. But you’re….”

“Thank you.”

Returning as the sun set I helped him over the sea wall. I went to find my son; Norman continued on his solitary way.

When I looked again he was out of sight.

My father died seven years later, at 93.

We never argued again. Not once, about anything. We were friends. Strange to say it: friends. Father and son. For five decades we'd struggled to transform each other into something neither of us could ever be. We'd had different values, differing visions of the future. I wanted him to be a different kind of father; he would have me be a different kind of son. Finally, none of it mattered. We gave up trying to change one another; gave up trying to change the future.

We had changed our past.

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Memories are the one gift you give to yourself.

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