Industry News – April 5th, 2016

Curated fashion industry news links for Tuesday, April 5th, 2016…

GUCCI WILL SHAKE UP THE FASHION SYSTEM WITH A SINGLE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S RUNWAY SHOW – Vogue
“Gucci announced today that it will combine its men’s and women’s runway shows into a single presentation, beginning with the Fall 2017 collections. The news was released by Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri at the New York Times International Luxury Conference in Versailles, with Bizzarri explaining, “Alessandro Michele has in fact always presented his men’s and women’s collections together, so this is a very natural progression. Moving to one show each season will significantly help to simplify many aspects of our business. Maintaining two separate, disconnected calendars has been a result of tradition rather than practicality.”

WINTER STORM URSULA IS THE LATEST THREAT TO RETAIL – FootwearNews
“Retail traffic and sales this week were already up against tough compares from last year’s pre-Easter and Easter weekend rush. Now, Winter Storm Ursula, forecast to dump up to six inches of snow on parts of southern New York to southern New England, could deliver another retail drag. According to retail traffic numbers out today, and posted by Citi Research analyst Kate McShane and Cowen and Co. analyst John Kernan, retail traffic in the fifth week of March slid more than 20 percent. Total U.S. retail same-store traffic was down 24.80 percent year-over-year for the week, compared with gains of 17.17 percent last year, McShane added.”

J.C. PENNEY TAPS ATHLETIC WEAR TREND WITH NEW LINE – RetailingToday
“J.C. Penney is teaming up with WWE to launch a new line of performance apparel for men and women. Tapout, a global fitness and training brand recently re-launched by WWE and Authentic Brands Group, is now available in nearly 300 J.C. Penney stores and at jcp.com, with plans to launch a women’s collection this summer.”

VALENTINO REPORTEDLY WANTS TO BUY BALMAIN FOR $569 MILLION– Yahoo!
“Italian fashion house Valentino, owned by Qatar’s Mayhoola for Investments, has offered 500 million euros (569 million dollars) to buy Pierre Balmain, French newspaper Les Echos reported Sunday, citing sources. The French fashion house, led by artistic director Olivier Rousteing, has also received offers from a Chinese group and an American investor, Les Echos said, without providing names. The heirs of Pierre Balmain’s founder, Alain Hivelin, have until Thursday to decide whether to accept one of the three offers, according to Les Echos.”

OHNE TITEL IS SHUTTERING AFTER NINE YEARS – NYMag
“Yet another independent New York label has gone gently into that good night. Business of Fashion reports today that Ohne Titel, helmed by Alexa Adams and Flora Gill, is closing after nine years in business. Their most recent collection, shown at last New York Fashion Week, will not go into production. Gill and Adams, who worked for Karl Lagerfeld before starting their own label, were CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund honorees twice running, and gained the support of influential editors like Carine Roitfeld and Caroline Issa. However, as their business grew, the duo was unable to find outside investors.”