Posts with tag Liz Claiborne

If you hang around with copyright lawyers enough, you're bound to get sued. That's what seems to be happening to Victoria's Secret right now. After suing Macy's for supposedly making knockoffs of their "Pink" line, it looks like VS is going to have to face the wrath of Juicy Couture's legal team. According to the lawsuit, Victoria Secret ripped off Juicy's trademark pink color as well as its marketing strategy, even down to the lollipop shaped packaging of some of their items.

It seems like every major fashion company is up to their eyeballs in copyright infringement lawsuits these days -- but instead of going after straight up counterfeiters, they've unexpectedly taken the opportunity to have a free-for-all on each other. It'll be interesting to see how many of these lawsuits hold up in court. When it's over, I'm sure most will wish the hadn't bothered to cast the first stone.

[via Jezebel]

If you follow the fashion industry at all, you know that designers release their new collections according to seasons -- Fall '07, Spring '08, etc. Makes sense, right? You need a different wardrobe in April than you do in November. However, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal, the days when people swapped out their wardrobes with every change of season may be long gone.

Liz Claiborne Inc, Target, Kohls and JC Penny are all following the trend -- shifting the way they sell clothes, so they have items on the rack that customers need "month to month, instead of season to season."

So what gives?

Apparently part of the reason is that these days, we spend so much time inside that there's no longer a need for the kind of big, bulky clothing our parents used to keep warm during the colder months. But the primary reason for this growing shift away from conventional season-to-season design is said to be something more...fundamental.

In short, it's due to climate change. According to Radley Horton, Columbia University climatologist, "There are less extreme differences between seasons." In fact, Spring comes 7 to 10 days earlier than it used to, fall is a week later than it was in decades past, and the months in between are growing milder -- meaning, that the chore of overhauling your wardrobe ever 3-4 months is quickly becoming unnecessary.

Who knows, maybe this means you don't have to stop wearing white just because Labor Day has come and gone.

Yet another fashion retailer is going through a shakeup and looking to sell or shut down some of their brands. Liz Claiborne is currently mulling over a major overhaul. The company is hitching their wagon to four label stars, Kate Spade, Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand Jeans and Mexx. These brands are expected to grow from about $2.2 billion this year to $3 billion by 2010 as the increased focus on the brands will lead to more marketing spending and store expansions.

The bad news is that if you are a fan of C&C California, Dana Buchman, Ellen Tracy, Emma James, Enyce, First Issue, Intuitions, J.H. Collectibles, Kenzie, Laundry by Design, Mac & Jac, prAna, Sigrid Olsen, Stamp 10, Tapemeasure or Tint, be on notice that these brands may be gone soon or going through a major change. It seems the company is set on skewing younger (yawn!) and ditching the older more staid brands. My question is whether or not this is just fashion's normal brand molting in which labels are often shed in favor of the newest and hottest or whether the older women, who should be (if based on population alone) the biggest market, are getting shafted yet again. Or perhaps there is a third option, women are getting older but we are dressing younger.

Liz Claiborne, one of the major sportswear designers of the 70s and 80s until she retired in 1989, and the founder of the Liz Claiborne company, died this morning.

Little else is known at this time, as the cause of death has not been released, but we'll keep you posted as soon as more information is available.

She was 78.

[via Fab Sugar]

Fashion designer Narcisco Rodriguez is getting a big infusion of cash for his business. Liz Claiborne Inc. is buying up the high-end design house. It seems an incongruous match, but as the Associated Press reports, the deal will give Narcisco financial backing and help Claiborne transition into the luxury clothing market. In the deal Claiborne will receive 50 percent ownership stake in the name and trademarks from the designer and will form a new company to develop the brand worldwide with Rodriguez as creative director. Claiborne is hoping to turn Narcisco Rodriguez into a $100 million business. Claiborne also now owns Juicy Couture and Lucky Brands, and in July the brand will reveal plans to overhaul the entire business and boost sagging profits.

A few weeks ago, I tossed out the idea that Project Runway's Tim Gunn should be the next choice for a high-profile budget designer. And lo and behold, a month later, Liz Claiborne takes me up on the idea.

Starting March 5, Gunn will be the chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc. The position makes Gunn responsible for attracting, maintaining and developing talent within the Claiborne empire.

Even though I give myself total credit for the idea, Claiborne deserves some recognition for seeing the long-term value someone like Tim Gunn could bring to an otherwise lackluster brand.

Should the people at Claiborne or some other sinking ship brand (i.e. The Gap) need a few more brilliant ideas, just have your people email my people. We'll do lunch...