The Promises of Big Event Promotions
Posted: October 27, 2015 Filed under: Business Law, General / Musings, Menswear | Tags: bespoke, event promotions, events, Henry Poole & Co, London, retail, Savile Row, The Beatles, Times Square Comments Off on The Promises of Big Event Promotions
In the service of consumer awareness, I have helped clients with event promotions ranging from setting up rub-down booths for aching feet at half marathons to participating in the closing off of Times Square for New Year’s Eve and the engagement of major talent to entertain the revelers. I was particularly amused, however, when Henry Poole & Co, the tailor shop that founded London’s Savile Row (back in 1846), alerted me to the closure of the Row for its one-day transformation into a pasture eighty meters long, populated by sixty squishy sheep and twenty-five anything-but-squishy male models, each of the latter in a bespoke outfit by one of the twenty-five participating tailors. For Savile Row Sheep Day (yes, big promotions need big names) on October 5 of this year, Henry Poole showed, on one of those big men, a made-for-the occasion three-piece suit made of a blue-gray 11-12 ounce Prince of Wales wool and cashmere blend. The sheep came as they were.
That is not the first time Savile Row has been disrupted for a special promotional event. As documented in the film Let It Be, on January 30, 1969, The Beatles gave their last public performance from the headquarters of their company at 3 Savile Row, creating a commotion that brought in the police and became part of the history of popular music.
Getting the famously phlegmatic London bobbies stirred up for the benefit of posterity was likely integral to the thinking behind The Beatles’ rooftop concert, but when fashion companies do big promotions—whether to let Shaun the Sheep and friends graze on a city street or to rent historic venues for fashion shows—they do not want legal troubles. Along with all the usual contractual complexities with vendors, models, transportation providers, venues and more, for big promotions, there typically are municipal permits, special insurance problems (Just what is the premium for coverage against damage by rampaging ruminants?), and often import/export and duty considerations, to name only a few of the additional legal concerns.
Big events are often borne of creativity at marketing and public relations companies and departments; but it is a good idea to bring in the lawyers well before a fashion company commits to move forward with such an event. Marketers are both inventive and parental, quickly falling in love with their creations, with the result that legal considerations can be put off to the last minute. That is why promotional lawyers are used to providing services in a rush. Under those conditions, even their best efforts may not be enough to prevent an exciting opportunity from becoming an expensive mistake due to missed deadlines for permits, hurried and failed attempts at gaining necessary consents and much more (and much worse). The simple rule of thumb is this: when you think big in a promotion, think legal. Before the big idea is a go, go to the lawyers and ask if it is possible and what it likely will cost to make it happen.
As for those sheep on Savile Row: someone did it all just right that day in October. The promotion went off as planned, the cops stayed away, everyone had a good time, and Henry Poole and the rest of the Row’s tailors got their message across, which was, “Gentlemen: wear wool and look smart.” We have to assume that, somewhere in London that night, an advertising and promotions lawyer slept soundly. He or she certainly deserved to.
Credit: Alan Behr
Photo Credit: Henry Poole & Co
Three Americans in Paris–a Tale of Heroism and Fashion
Posted: September 1, 2015 Filed under: General / Musings, Menswear | Tags: Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Élysée Palace, François Hollande, France, heroism, Jane Hartley, Légion d'honneur, Legion of Honor, Netherlands, Paris, Spencer Stone, terrorism, Thalys Comments Off on Three Americans in Paris–a Tale of Heroism and Fashion
Among all the words written about the three young Americans who charged and subdued a heavily armed terrorist aboard a high-speed train in France, preventing what could have been a massive loss of life, was the fact that each received the Legion of Honor, the highest decoration given by France, while wearing polo shirts and khakis. (The British businessman who assisted them put on a suit to accept his award and spoke to his hosts in French.) Even the country club casual attire (built on “basics,” as retailers explain it to us) had to be scrounged up on the quick for the young heroes by friends and associates. Their detour from the Netherlands to Paris having been a spur-of-the-moment decision, their luggage had contained the usual assortment of shorts and T-shirts of young American travelers going just about everywhere. In light of their selfless heroism, much of the sartorial commentary about the ceremony has been along the lines of charmed recognition of the informality of the heroes in contrast to the great formality usually present at such events, particularly at the Élysée Palace.
We should first put aside the obvious: when a guy in his twenties packs for a summer vacation with his pals, he does not typically fret whether he should stuff into his backpack clothes suitable to get married in, on the off chance that he might either (a) find a bride or (b) receive the Légion d’honneur from the president of France. Those are three brave young men, but even they do not claim to be omniscient.
The more important point is that fashion is indeed everywhere. There is no way to avoid it. Even those who insist they do not care about fashion or style and dress how they please in order to be as anti-fashion and anti-style as they can are making fashion and style choices by so doing. That is, choosing to show that you are not keeping up with fashion is, in itself, a fashion choice. The fact that the two uninjured Americans (one of the men had been badly cut up by the attacker) did not first sprint down the Rue Saint-Honoré and throw themselves at the mercy of the head fitter at the Hermès flagship, begging to be form-fitted into business suits in time to get their medals pinned to their chests by President François Hollande, was itself a fashion statement. It said, “Given what we managed to do, we just didn’t think anyone cared how we looked as long as we showed the courtesy of making an effort appropriate to the moment and behaved respectfully.” And that is exactly what they did.
If there are fashion rules to draw from what happened at the Élysée Palace, it is this:
- Military heroes wear uniforms.
- Superheroes wear costumes strange enough to remind and assure us that they are the stuff of fantasy and nonsense.
- Ordinary citizens who do acts of heroism can wear whatever the hell they please.
And bravo to our three brave young men for making that fashion statement for all the world to see.
Credit: Alan Behr
Photo Credit: Used by Permission – Gisele Tellier/Geisler-Fotopress/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
The World’s Worst Accessory
Posted: June 2, 2015 Filed under: Accessories, General / Musings | Tags: canes, Hermes, Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo Comments Off on The World’s Worst AccessoryI used to think that accessories add style in greater proportion to their expense and relative size. Then came three bouts of sciatica (due in part to too much sitting in one place on intercontinental flights in the service of fashion), meniscus surgery on the right knee and the doctor’s assurance that the left knee will soon need it as well. In all cases, I was 
on a cane until things sorted themselves out; as temporary as those experiences were, they have convinced me that a cane is absolutely the world’s worst accessory. Guys—if you must have a cane, wear a jacket and tie as often as possible and try to keep an erect posture. Doing that at least got me the occasional compliment of looking “distinguished,” which I learned is actually a euphemism for “a man past his prime who manages to keep up appearances.” And don’t ever accept the standard-issue hospital cane. Formerly, a cane was indeed a fashion accessory. When I was young, my parents, who could walk just fine, had an antique cane collection—as a décor item, I suppose. I bought my cane at a midtown Manhattan tobacco shop. The handle is shaped like a mallard’s head. It became known to my small boy as “Daddy Ducky,” and he would take to stomping it around the foyer, saying, “Quack, quack, quack,” until Daddy could gently get Daddy Ducky out of his hands.
Why is a cane so bad? Consider this incident, which is not atypical: I was standing in the Lexington Avenue bus, on my way to work. (When cane-less, I prefer to walk, and quite briskly at that.) An attractive, stylishly dressed woman seated nearby saw me and smiled. The bus came to its next stop. Her accessories defined her style: Her Hermès scarf seemed to carry her up like angels’ wings. As she rose onto her blue Ferragamo pumps, the MK medallion on her handbag swayed, and the air was spiced with her perfume. She smiled at me again with what I could see now were blue, alluring eyes—and politely offered to give up her seat to me and stand until she reached her stop.
Distinguished my ***. If there is indeed a next time for the services of Daddy Ducky, I’ll take cabs.
Credit: Alan Behr
Those Empty Young Eyes
Posted: May 12, 2015 Filed under: General / Musings, Womenswear | Tags: Bloomingdale's, Guy Bourdin, models, photographers, photography, Robert Polidori Comments Off on Those Empty Young Eyes
Recently, in American Photo, the photographer Robert Polidori reflected on the things he does not like about fashion photography: “One is the psychological stance. Eyes are the window to the soul, or at least to the psychological state. In the great majority of fashion photography in the past, say, 40 to 50 years, they have zombielike eyes. They look at the viewer-or at the photographer, who is the metaphor for the viewer-to-be—like, ‘I’m not looking at you. I do not value you.’ There’s a sense of denial that runs through it. I always wondered, why does denial sell clothes?”
As both a fashion lawyer and as a photographer, that touched a nerve with me. That empty stare of models in both advertising and editorial shoots has been a staple of fashion photography for about as long as Polidori suggests. It goes back at least as far as the “Sighs and Whispers” lingerie brochure photographed for Bloomingdale’s in 1976 by Guy Bourdin. Immediately controversial, it featured models looking lovely and catatonic in their perfect underwear. (I actually have a copy of that small but groundbreaking piece stored safely somewhere.)
The alternative to the blank eyes is the downright threatening “go thither” stare—as if the beautiful woman is either daring you to admire her and her clothes or pitying you for hoping ever to match her. As your basic straight and clueless guy (adjectives that, I am reliably told, are redundant in context), I also have to ask for what reason any of that sells clothes to women. (If anyone knows, please email us the answer, and we will consider it for future posts.)
I look at the women in fashion publications, and I reflect now on how completely different they are from those in publications aimed at straight and clueless guys. Take any well-done fashion editorial piece and compare it with say, the Playmate of the Month pictorial. Three messages are forcefully presented to women: First, to appeal to men, you do not need to spend all that much on clothes; indeed, if ever there were an illustration of the principle of less is more, here it is. Second, you do not have to be all that thin; the women in men’s magazines illustrate what evolutionary biologists have long been saying: whether they know it or not (probably not), men seek mates who have sufficient body fat to carry a pregnancy to term. The third thing you notice is that it really does pay to smile and to look interested in the guy who is looking you over. (Come on, admit it: your Mom told you that too, right?)
We get it that fashion photos for women’s apparel are not directed at men. Maybe that helps explain why we remain so clueless when it comes to choosing gifts for women. As to what our magazines say back to women, do we really feel comfortable sending the message that, no matter the season or what is showing on the runways, nothing equals the effect of a red thong and a pair of stilettos? And for evening, accessorize that with an engaging smile? I suspect women are no more interested in getting that message than men are prepared to understand why those lean and mean girls in fashion photographs appeal to potential customers. So much about romance will just continue to remain a mystery to us all.
Credit: Alan Behr
Millennials Sure Don’t Shop the Way Their Parents Did
Posted: April 29, 2015 Filed under: General / Musings | Tags: Generation X, Generation Y, Lily Pulitzer, millennials, online shopping, retail, retailers, Target Corporation Comments Off on Millennials Sure Don’t Shop the Way Their Parents Did
I was struck by the news that Target’s limited edition Lily Pulitzer collection sold out within hours, after Target took its website off-line in the face of extraordinary demand when the collection went on sale. It is surprising that a sophisticated retailer and a well-known fashion brand did not expect either the demand or that it would manifest itself in a stampede to Target’s website. Can it be that fashion brands and retailers do not appreciate the fundamental shift in consumer behavior of which this is merely the latest manifestation?
As the mother of a daughter who is what the media has taken to calling a millennial, I have had a highly personal view of the change in what was once a fundamental consumer activity: shopping. For me, shopping, which includes searching for luxury brands at bargain prices, is a treasured leisure time activity. It was an activity I used to share with my daughter. The siren call of the mall in Florida, California or wherever else I might be where there was a mall was an essential not-to-be-missed feature of any vacation. And in Manhattan, which has no malls, a stroll on Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue was a wonderful activity on a nice day.
That stopped when my daughter became a teenager. The one and only shopping trip we have taken in the last 5 years was to find a gown for the prom. That’s not to say that my daughter is not obsessed with fashion or is not an inveterate shopper. She spends more time shopping than I ever did. But the only stores she visits in person are Sephora, to play with cosmetics, the Apple store, to play with gadgets, and thrift shops and vintage stores to find that perfect ugly Christmas sweater or 60’s bargain accessory.
Instead, she shops on-line at all hours of the day and nigh
t, particularly when she is procrastinating to avoid writing papers or completing other school assignments. She shops on her iphone, on her iPad and on her Macbook. She orders everything she is interested in on-line, preferring to try things on in the comfort of her own room, returning what doesn’t work and keeping what does.
For her, on-line shopping is also a highly social and communal activity. She sends links of potential purchases to friends and solicits their opinions. She takes selfies of herself in garments to poll her friends on what she should keep. She follows the brands she likes on social media so that she knows what’s coming and when the sales start.
None of this is new. It has been going on now for years. It is the reason why malls are dying and why some teen retailers have struggled while others have thrived. It has dramatic implications for fashion brands and retailers and important implications for lawyers who serve them. We all must master the internet, social media and the changes in distribution channels that these portend. So bear in mind all: this is the generation that killed the compact disc and record stores and is well on its way to killing iTunes, even though it consumes more music from all over the world than we ever did. It is killing the book store and books (college texts can be rented, ordered on-line and sometimes consumed electronically), although it actually reads more than we do. You’d better get with the “what I want, when I want it, without getting dressed” generation or you’ll soon be a relic of the past. And message to Target and other retailers: if you frustrate your customers and they see your goods as something unattainably dangled out of their reach, you’ve lost them as customers. Millennials do not take frustration well, and the web offers lots of alternatives that are more accommodating. Like Top Shop!
Credit: Helene M. Freeman
A Meditation on the Necktie II
Posted: January 27, 2015 Filed under: Accessories, General / Musings, Menswear | Tags: neckties, tie, ties Comments Off on A Meditation on the Necktie II
I have mentioned here before that the necktie is the only discretionary piece of a typical man’s daily outfit. Women may have a multitude of choices, but dressing a man is really quite simple: whatever the day and whatever the occasion, it is pants, shirt, shoes, and if it is cool outside, a sweater or jacket. Add a belt or suspenders, the almost obligatory underwear and some nearly as almost obligatory socks—and there you are. If you consider that style is what starts to happen the moment that taste transcends practicality, the necktie is the one item in the daily male outfit most amenable to becoming a statement of personal style. With the advent of business casual—that international license to look innocuous in the very environment in which you should most stand out—neckties of course have become optional for business and therefore have been routinely discarded by many men. With the long-hoped-for rise in male awareness about fashion, however, perhaps that will soon reverse. Think of the possibilities: you may once again walk into a business meeting or sit down with friends at a restaurant without staring at a rainforest of wiry hairs protruding through the V of an open-collared shirt and may actually, dare we hope, find yourself staring at something worth seeing. Remember, I said before that neckties have no protective function, not that they are functionless.
Credit: Alan Behr
Related Post: A Meditation On The Necktie I
