ALESSANDRA ILARI
Gucci is commemorating next year's Summer Olympic Games in China in its own luxurious way.
Separate from any official celebration or sponsor, Frida Giannini has created a special collection called 8-8-2008 Limited Edition that encompasses eight exclusive accessories with a sporty bent. The Olympics kick off in Beijing on Aug. 8, and eight is the lucky number in Chinese culture.
The collection's icing is the new I-Gucci watch, retailing for $1,415, which is the brand's first digital timepiece. It features a clean black face, also available in a clock hand format, a steel frame and a cherry red rubber strap engraved with the Gucci logo on the outside and internally embossed with the interlocked G motif.
Except for the watch, which will roll out worldwide, all the other 8-8-2008 Limited Edition items will be available only in Gucci stores in China, Hong Kong and Macau, starting in January. The initiative is a testament to the importance and potential China has for luxury goods brands.
The project also includes a $3,420 bicycle, with bold red double-G leather details, and other collector's items such as a mah-jongg game set covered in red La Pelle Guccissima leather and a soft leather panda teddy bear that pays homage to that iconic Chinese animal.
"Not only does red evoke happiness and celebration, two emotions that couldn't be more appropriate to describe the excitement brought by the international sport games, but it also happens to be a very fashionable color for 2008," Giannini said.
She also crafted two pieces of luggage in La Pelle Guccissima, a sturdy duffel bag and a soft messenger-style bag with Gucci's iconic green-and-red ribbon, as well as a pair of men's and women's sports shoes fashioned with a patchwork of suede, patent leather and a gold trim. Last but not least, to accessorize a casual look, there's a sterling silver and enamel necklace inspired by military tags.
An ad campaign shot by Chinese photographer Feng Hai and featuring young actor Huang Xiao Ming is also part of the deal. The portrait-style images that break in the February issues of magazines were shot in a studio in Hong Kong and will circulate in the same markets as the 8-8-2008 Limited Edition collection.
Friday, December 21, 2007
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Monday, December 17, 2007
New Balance is gets in the fashion game
For fall ’08, the Boston-based athletic company will launch a new line of casual footwear for women under the NB Inside label.
And that line, it seems, will be a key part of New Balance’s strategy for reaching $3 billion in sales by 2012. “Our lifestyle business will play a key role in helping us to reach our $3 billion goal,” said Rob DeMartini, CEO of New Balance. “While New Balance’s heritage is in performance, our brand’s authenticity and strength offers us a unique opportunity to capture a larger piece of the lifestyle category.”
Joe Casagrande, strategic business unit manager for the division that oversees NB Inside, estimated that half the women who buy the collection will be new customers for the company. He also said the new collection, which will eventually include men’s, could be a big part of the company’s casual business. “Over time, we hope this collection will make up roughly 25 percent of our global lifestyle footwear sales,” he said.
Initially, NB Inside will include two styles that put New Balance’s sneaker technology — including the company’s Abzorb cushioning foam in the midsole and a layer of memory foam — into a fashion sneaker silhouette. The styles will retail for $125.
“This is a completely new style, not an NB retro running style or a fashion-oriented color-up or material spun on a more technical silhouette,” said Casagrande. “We recognize that the lines between performance, fashion and lifestyle have become very blurred and gray. But that is the gray zone we love to play in.”
For the launch, New Balance will target a handful of department stores, fashion-forward family footwear stores and independent accounts in the U.S., as well as select markets in Europe and Asia.
To develop the collection, the company turned to design firm DDC Labs, which worked on New Balance’s PF Flyers account. According to Savania Davies-Keiller, an owner of DDC Labs, the firm worked for more than a year to create a shoe that was both stylish and comfortable. “As women, I think we want something a little sleeker and more feminine, something we can wear not only for working out but for the everyday,” Davies-Keiller said.
DeMartini added: “We believe the versatility, design and technology of NB Inside will appeal to a younger female consumer who is interested in both style and performance. No other brand is fusing technology and fashion in the marketplace today.”
And that line, it seems, will be a key part of New Balance’s strategy for reaching $3 billion in sales by 2012. “Our lifestyle business will play a key role in helping us to reach our $3 billion goal,” said Rob DeMartini, CEO of New Balance. “While New Balance’s heritage is in performance, our brand’s authenticity and strength offers us a unique opportunity to capture a larger piece of the lifestyle category.”
Joe Casagrande, strategic business unit manager for the division that oversees NB Inside, estimated that half the women who buy the collection will be new customers for the company. He also said the new collection, which will eventually include men’s, could be a big part of the company’s casual business. “Over time, we hope this collection will make up roughly 25 percent of our global lifestyle footwear sales,” he said.
Initially, NB Inside will include two styles that put New Balance’s sneaker technology — including the company’s Abzorb cushioning foam in the midsole and a layer of memory foam — into a fashion sneaker silhouette. The styles will retail for $125.
“This is a completely new style, not an NB retro running style or a fashion-oriented color-up or material spun on a more technical silhouette,” said Casagrande. “We recognize that the lines between performance, fashion and lifestyle have become very blurred and gray. But that is the gray zone we love to play in.”
For the launch, New Balance will target a handful of department stores, fashion-forward family footwear stores and independent accounts in the U.S., as well as select markets in Europe and Asia.
To develop the collection, the company turned to design firm DDC Labs, which worked on New Balance’s PF Flyers account. According to Savania Davies-Keiller, an owner of DDC Labs, the firm worked for more than a year to create a shoe that was both stylish and comfortable. “As women, I think we want something a little sleeker and more feminine, something we can wear not only for working out but for the everyday,” Davies-Keiller said.
DeMartini added: “We believe the versatility, design and technology of NB Inside will appeal to a younger female consumer who is interested in both style and performance. No other brand is fusing technology and fashion in the marketplace today.”
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