CAVALLI CELEBRATES AT SELFRIDGES, SOREL’S NENOW EXITS, GUCCI PARTIES AT THE SAVOY

MARKING A POP UP: It was a moment of celebration for Roberto Cavalli as the brand launched its first pop-up store at Selfridges dedicated to the Wild Leda collection.

British Japanese artist Rina Sawayama feted the launch at the Brasserie of Light with a performance. The likes of Amelia and Eliza Spencer, Amy Jackson, Wallis Day and Amber Le Bon were in attendance.

The Wild Leda collection will be on display at the luxury department store’s second floor for four weeks, while occupying two main windows of Selfridges on Oxford Street.

“We wanted to offer something unexpected, without abiding to the conventional dates and with a pervasive visibility, and catch people off-guard, and what better place than Selfridges?” chief executive officer Sergio Azzolari told WWD in an interview earlier in the week.

He joined the brand at the end of March.

Azzolari underscored the brand’s focus on a lifestyle concept and not on single products, but rather “with an idea and an ideal that can be traced back to the past.”

The bucolic scene of the capsule is inspired by the Leda and the Swan archival pattern originally designed by founder Roberto Cavalli in 1994. Conceived by creative director Fausto Puglisi, the Wild Leda seasonal capsule comprises ready-to-wear, beachwear, accessories — including the season’s signature Roar Bag and Pettegole slingback shoes — as well as a selection of homeware and furniture pieces.

This marks the brand’s entry into Selfridges, said Azzolari, and London was chosen “also in light of future developments; we have big plans for the city and this marks the beginning of a path and a bigger exposure to the direct-to-consumer platform.” — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

EXECUTIVE CHANGES: The outdoor conglomerate Columbia Sportswear Company has revealed that one of its key brand leaders is stepping down due to health reasons.

After 16 years with the company, Mark Nenow, president of the Sorel brand, has resigned “in order to focus on his health,” according to a statement issued by Columbia Friday afternoon.

Last year he led Sorel to net sales of $347 million, said Columbia Sportswear’s chairman, president and chief executive officer Tim Boyle. “His leadership has been invaluable to this company, and we wish him the very best.”

During an earnings call last year, Boyle enthused about how Sorel’s sneaker styles and wedges “contributed to phenomenal demand and brand heat.” As such, Columbia revealed plans to invest more deeply in product and demand creation with the aim of Sorel becoming a $1 billion brand. At that time the company said it expected Sorel to be its fastest-growing brand, with a 20 percent to 22 percent expected compound annual growth rate over the next three years. That was a key component in the Portland, Oregon-based sportswear company’s goal of adding more than $700 million in net sales by 2025.

Another in-house executive, Craig Zanon, senior vice president of emerging brands, has stepped in to take on Nenow’s former responsibilities, as the company searches for his successor.

Nenow joined the company in 2007 to head up its footwear division. In the years that followed he worked to evolve the Sorel label from a men’s winter work boot specialist to a more fashion-inclined year-round women’s-led brand. He took on the top leadership job eight years later and zeroed in on the functionality of Sorel’s boots, sandals, sneakers and other styles.

With Nenow at the helm in 2015, the Sorel Capsule Apparel Collection — parkas and jackets for men and women — debuted. Many of the same features found on its line of footwear such as heavy-duty clasps and triple-sewn stitching were incorporated into the collection. More recently, Sorel’s headquarters moved into a single-use building on Columbia Sportswear’s main campus in Washington County in Oregon. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

JUMPIN’ AT THE SAVOY: Gucci took over The Savoy hotel in London on Thursday evening to celebrate its Bamboo 1947 bag with a cocktail reception and dinner hosted by Jazzy De Lisser.

Drinks took place in the Royal Suite by Gucci at the hotel, a place where the Italian brand has strong connections.

In the early 20th century, Guccio Gucci worked as a luggage porter at The Savoy. His observations of guests coming in and out with their exquisite luggage is what inspired him to start an artisanal luggage atelier in 1921.

In 2021, the hotel collaborated with Gucci on the transformation of the Royal Suite, featuring pieces from the Gucci Décor line: wallpaper with the brand’s double G logo; monogrammed cushions; scented candles, and more.

A seated dinner followed the cocktail at Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay with the likes of Ella Richards, Poppy Delevingne, Olympia of Greece, Alice Naylor-Leyland, Lady Mary Charteris and Nikolai and Sascha von Bismarck in attendance.

The Bamboo 1947 was created in post-World War II Italy, where there was a leather shortage resulting in the house using bamboo. 

In 1954, the bag made its cinema debut with Ingrid Bergman carrying it in “Viaggio In Italia,” which was then followed by cameos in Michelangelo Antonioni’s films.

Eleonora Rossi Drago carried it in “Le Amiche” in 1955 and then Vanessa Redgrave followed in the 1966 thriller “Blow-up.”

Last year, Gucci set up shop inside London’s famed luxury hotel, taking over the Savoy Tea Shop on the ground floor for three months, which usually sells tea and cake.

The short residency was a celebration of Gucci’s travel offerings, including trunks, trolleys, duffel bags, suitcases, garment bags, travel sets, stationery and pet accessories. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

NEW FLAGSHIP: NK Store, a multibrand specialty store founded by Brazilian-born Natalie Klein, will open a 4,090-square-foot flagship in Iguatemi São Paulo on June 16, signaling the arrival of several international brands that are making their debut in the Brazilian market.

Brands such as Jacquemus, Coperni, The Attico, Courrèges, Paco Rabanne, Magda Butrym, Isabel Marant and JW Anderson will be available for the first time in Brazil at the two-level NK Store at Iguatemi, which is the oldest shopping center in South America and which can be a port of entry for luxury brands entering the continent for the first time.

NK Store, which features women’s apparel and accessories, was founded by Klein at the age of 21 in 1997 and launched e-commerce in late 2012. In 2013, Klein partnered with Farfetch.com to showcase NK Store to a global audience.

NK Store already has four stores in Brazil: one in São Paulo, two in Rio de Janeiro and one in Recife. This marks NK Store’s second location in São Paulo, which will be the specialty retailer’s central flagship.

Iguatemi São Paulo features such retailers as Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Cartier, Carolina Herrera, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Hermès, Polo Ralph Lauren, Rimowa, Saint Laurent and Tod’s. — LISA LOCKWOOD

GIROTRA MARKS PRIDE: Indian couturier Mayyur Girotra kicked off Pride Month in New York on Friday with a runway show at SoHo’s Ave India Design Collective to debut his first ready-to-wear capsule, “Aikya.”

Sanskrit for unity, “Aikya is a reflection of my belief that fashion can be a unifying force that brings people together,” Girotra said.

Paying tribute to the Pride flag and the color symbolism inherent in Indian fashion, the collection embraced the entire spectrum with animal motifs and Kutch-style embroidery adding South Asian flair to track pants, puffer jackets and cropped shirts, while traditional garb-like sadri vests and mirror detail lehenga skirts were styled to reveal loads of skin, giving them a more youthful twist. Casting for the show included models of varying body sizes, gender identities and sexual orientations — a reflection of Girotra’s overall mission to celebrate “the beauty of diversity.”

The “Aikya” collection was sponsored by Google subsidiaries Pride at Google and the Indus Google Network, which the designer said, “have been extremely kind and helpful with executing the entire process,” adding he feels fortunate to be given the opportunity to showcase his designs in support of India’s LGBTQ community.

The event took place as India awaits a decision from its Supreme Court regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage. “The ability to marry the person we love, regardless of their gender, is a fundamental human right that should be afforded to all individuals,” Girotra said.

“Regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights [in India] will continue. We must remember that legal recognition is just one aspect of the battle. True acceptance and equality come from changing hearts and minds, challenging prejudice, and fostering a society that embraces diversity in all its forms.”

Girotra is a favorite of the Bollywood set, worn by the likes of Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Shilpa Shetty. He retails out of three U.S. locations in New York, New Jersey and San Francisco and plans to expand his rtw as he looks to increase his brand’s accessibility. 

The “Aikya” pride capsule was available from Sunday in store and online with prices running from $250 to $2,500. — ARI STARK

NOT SLACKING: Farah has opened its first Soho store just in time for summer, on the heels of the brand’s spring 2023 collection release.

The collection was inspired by the 1978 cult classic reggae film “Rockers” as well as Canadian photographer Beth Lesser, who captured the dance hall scenes and styles during the ’70s and ’80s in Kingston, Jamaica.

The new store’s minimalist decor of pale wood and steel racks allows the clothing to take center stage, such as a linen button-down shirt in a reworked military camouflage pattern featuring soft shades of cream, green, pink and blue.

Farah previously partnered with Bianca Saunders for her spring 2022 collection, resulting in a lineup influenced by Althea & Donna’s 1978 song “Uptown Top Ranking,” as well by Saunders’ old family photographs. 

A second collaboration is on its way, set to be presented on June 21 during Paris Fashion Week.

“We’ve done one collaboration in the past with Bianca. It just happened naturally; we decided this was the time to continue that relationship,” said Mia Zackrisson, global head of marketing at Farah.

Zackrisson also teased future projects in motion.

“We are looking to our heritage with a focus on trousers. Farah was the original trouser company, and we want to highlight that category and launch with ‘The Original Trouser Company’ tag line in the near future, adding to our whole lifestyle offering,” she said.

Founded in Texas in 1920, Farah moved to the U.K. in the ’70s, where it was quickly adopted by Mods, Rude Boys and other fixtures of London’s ’70s subculture scenes. — VIOLET GOLDSTONE