Gucci Group

>> Mario Testino photographed Anna Wintour for the April 2011 cover of WSJ. — likely at her request (he often shoots Vogue's covers). Because if there's one thing about Wintour, it's that she does things on her own terms.

Si Newhouse (chairman of Advance Publications, which owns Vogue) attests with an anecdote about a Fashion's Night Out meeting Wintour held in Paris, which had 30 international Vogue editors and publishers in attendance: "It was the first time anybody had gotten them all together. She didn't need my authority to do it — she has a remarkable ability to impose her will. If I had had reservations, she probably would have gone ahead anyway."

Marc Jacobs, too, confirms: "If I get a request for something I don't want to do, first I get an email, then a phone call from someone at Vogue, and now I don't even bother to say no — I know the next call is from her." And New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Wintour has worked with on a number of initiatives — including Fashion's Night Out — says: "Behind all Anna's grace and poise is some pretty tough resolve. She's not a person you want to say no to."

Even the Costume Institute has bowed to Wintour's requests (she has raised a grand total of $75 million for the organization, after all). For last year's gala, she had a 30-foot hot-air balloon trucked in from South Dakota to float above the museum's Engelhard Court. "When we first saw it, we go, 'Never! We can't have gas in the museum!' " says Met president Emily Rafferty. "Anna's changed our attitude — she's brought us to new levels of thinking of what we can do, but without ever losing sight that we're working in a museum context here."

Needless to say, Wintour's reach extends much further than fashion. Harvey Weinstein, who has known Wintour for 15 years (and more recently married Marchesa's Georgina Chapman), notes: "I'm a streak player, but Anna's there, good or bad. When I wasn't doing so well, Anna would throw a party and put me next to Bernard Arnault." Although he declined to be specific, Weinstein said that he had several business deals come out of that party. And Baz Luhrmann, who just recently cast Wintour favorite Carey Mulligan to star in his upcoming film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, says: "I always talk to Anna about what I'm up to, and I always listen to what she has to say."

Within fashion, too, Wintour is more than just an editor. As Francois-Henri Pinault, head of PPR, says: "She tackles things that are really much bigger than what any other editors take on." Because of Wintour, Pinault is currently discussing how to financially support young designers with the French government. But Wintour never straight-out asks him to do something: "She's much more subtle than that."

She's also something of a matchmaker — whether it's designer to brand (in the case of placing John Galliano at Christian Dior back in 1996; Bernard Arnault — chairman of LVMH, which owns Dior — says of Wintour: "She pointed us towards unexpected choices. I speak very openly to her, and this was quite audacious — it was not about picking the big names of the moment. It took her to see that there was a stylistic closeness between John and Dior. She was the discoverer.") or brand to financier (in the case of Bottega Veneta and Gucci Group or Michael Kors and Sportswear Holdings). "She does this very discreetly, but she's really a kind of consigliere to the entire fashion and retail industry," one former colleague who worked closely with Wintour says. Another former colleague, who attended several corporate matchmaking meetings with Wintour, adds: "I came to realize that she's really the McKinsey of fashion." As for Wintour's word on the matter? "We can suggest," she says, "but in the end, everybody makes up their own minds."

It sounds like Wintour isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Vogue is Conde Nast's most profitable publication, Si Newhouse confirms, adding that he has no successor in mind: "Never. I hope she's here 10 years from now, 20 years from now." Wintour, for her part, says: "With all the new media outlets out there, with all the noise, a voice of authority and calm like Vogue becomes more important than ever. The more eyes on fashion, the more opinions about fashion, the more exploration of fashion around the world, the better it is for Vogue. Vogue is like Nike or Coca-Cola — this huge global brand. I want to enhance it, I want to protect it, and I want it to be part of the conversation."

A few more quotables from the WSJ. profile:

Marc Jacobs on Wintour's cold reputation: "She gets such a bad rap. She stands by the people she believes in, and if you're not one of those people, perhaps you take a different view."

Wintour's take on her reputation: "I care deeply about my friends and my family and they know it, but work is work."

Wintour on cover choice regrets: "I'm not terribly proud of putting the Spice Girls on the cover."

Wintour on the John Galliano scandal: "This is all so tragic."

Wintour on being criticized for using the same people in Vogue: "I try to remain open to new people, but obviously there's a stronger element of trust with people you've known for a long time. I think we have a Vogue vocabulary, and there are certain people we like to have as the backbone of the magazine — Vogue's signposts. We try very hard to integrate the familiar signatures with people we feel are new and up-and-coming, but I would rather err on the side of being a little more familiar than being too . . . What's the right word? . . . Edgy."

WSJ. on Wintour's morning habits: "When I met Wintour in her big, artfully tidy office at Vogue, she had been up since 5 am — her normal waking hour. On most days she goes off to play tennis at 6, but lately she's been nursing a sore elbow and can't play. Which didn't mean no tennis."

• Alberta Ferretti took a page out of Tom Ford's book and had the likes of Camilla Belle, Carmen Dell'Orefice, Poppy Delevigne, Paz de la Huerta, and Marisa Berenson walk in place of models as part of her Florentine show to open Pitti Immagine Uomo last night, for which she created an exclusive 30-piece collection [Style.com, Fashionista]
• The Costume Institute received a donation of $10 million from Jonathan and Lizzie Tisch to create a new gallery space; although this gift was the "tipping point" to start construction next year, fundraising for the project started several years ago and has been helped in large part by Anna Wintour and the Costume Institute Gala benefit [NY Times]
• Gucci Group parent company PPR just created a new business unit dedicated to developing online retail. CEO François-Henri Pinault called e-commerce a "strategic priority," adding: “My goal [is] to increase our digital presence and accelerate our growth in online sales, which should reach 10 percent of Gucci Group and Puma’s consolidated revenues over the next few years” [WWD]
• Bibhu Mohapatra, Pamela Love, Mandy Coon, The Lake & Stars, M. Patmos, and Study NY were all awarded $25,000 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation grants to put toward their upcoming New York Fashion Week shows [WWD]
• Erin Wasson is designing a capsule collection for Zadig & Voltaire [ElleUK]
• W's February 2011 cover features a first look at sweet-looking Rooney Mara's transformation into punky Lisbeth Salander for David Fincher's upcoming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo film [W]
• Instead of pouting across the board as in seasons past, models have notably been captured smiling in both the Valentino and Chloe Spring 2011 ad campaigns [Garance Dore]
• Jessica Stam's left arm is in a sling after she sprained and fractured it while snowboarding in Montana over the holidays [Modelinia]
• Using the same technology that made the Death Star explode in Star Wars, Loewe blows up its Amazona bag over and over in a new brand video [Style File]

>> Effective Sept. 1, Mark Lee will take the helm of Barneys as chief executive officer, a position that hasn't been filled since 2008, when Howard Socol (who held the position for seven years) resigned after apparent disagreements with Barneys parent company Istithmar over plans to open stores outside the United States.

Lee had been in negotiations for the job previously (when he stepped down as president and CEO of Gucci Group in 2008, speculation was ignited that he was Barneys-bound), and talks resumed several weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. His appointment follows well-recorded struggles for the retailer: rumors surfaced of a bankruptcy filing or sale after Barneys recorded a loss last year.

What will Lee bring to the table?

>> Francois-Henri Pinault: Gucci Group "Moving Toward Fewer Logos" —The Phoebe Philo effect continues. Friday, when reporting on Gucci Group earnings, PPR chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault noted: “Our groups are moving toward fewer logos, more discreet luxury. It’s a question of adapting our ranges very rapidly to this new perception of luxury, a luxury which is more subtle, more sophisticated — which is what we are doing.” This mode won't be hard to put into practice for a number of the group's brands, which already tend to do without much logoed merch — Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta, for example — but it is a change of pace for the flagship brand, Gucci. [WWD]

>> This morning, Francois-Henri Pinault, president of PPR announced: "The Alexander McQueen trademark will live on. This would be the best tribute that we could offer to him."  Pinault noted that the decision was made quickly after McQueen's death, and said he was confident the house continues to hold "very important potential." Sales of McQueen clothes are reported to have surged 1,400 percent in the last week.

Robert Polet, president of Gucci Group, confirmed that the Fall 2010 collection the designer was finishing before his death will be shown at Paris Fashion Week next month.  Polet said he spoke to McQueen a few weeks ago, and the two men decided that they had "transitioned from being the name of a designer to putting in place the building blocks of a brand." He recalled McQueen telling him: "That means that will be my legacy. That's something I will always leave behind."

On the subject of replacement »

>> This morning, a coroner's inquest confirmed that Alexander McQueen, whose body was found at his home in London last Thursday at 10:30 am, died of asphyxiation and hanging himself in his wardrobe.  The inquest has not yet formally ruled the death a suicide, but police said there were no suspicious circumstances.  A suicide note was found in the apartment and is being examined by police.

The inquest has been adjourned to April 28, and full details of the autopsy will be available in a few months.  Despite the fact that McQueen's family is now free to hold his funeral, there has been no word on details, although it's rumored to be very, very small, and followed by a larger March memorial. A spokeswoman for London Fashion Week said an event featuring a tribute to the designer is being planned, pending approval from the McQueen family.

As for McQueen the brand, no official word yet on that either, but owner PPR has indicated it will comment on the subject when it releases its 2009 figures on Thursday.

>> Alexander McQueen Samples Recalled, Speculation on Company's Future Rises —This morning, Alexander McQueen's director of communications sent out an urgent message requesting all samples be sent back "asap" because securing "all items and garments from current and past collections" is their "immediate priority."  Gucci Group remains mum on the future of McQueen the company — save CEO Robert Polet's emailed statement on the subject, which read: "What I can say is that there is a team at Alexander McQueen that has enormous talent and energy and passion that Lee was extremely proud of and I am too." A number of articles are popping up, citing luxury consultants and analysts who find the designer and his brand too inextricably linked for the company to survive without him. Noted one: "I think PPR will use this as a pretext to walk away from the McQueen brand, which has never really made any money anyway. The label just hasn't been around for long enough to be able to survive in the long term now that he is no longer there. A brand needs to have a history to live on in these circumstances and Alexander McQueen's brand doesn't have enough of a history. It's comparatively recent and its roots are not deep enough." [Heard on the Runway, Bloomberg, Times UK, AP]

>> Even designers are shopping the closet when it comes to piecing together their latest collection. Fortune's Peter Gumbel writes in his new profile on Francois-Henri Pinault of PPR: "All the brands have been scouring for ways to save cash. Hiring and salaries have been frozen since last September. Bonuses for this year have been halved too. Inventiveness has become the order of the day."

Robert Polet, CEO of PPR's Gucci Group, illustrates with a story of how he found Tomas Maier on the floor of Bottega Veneta's headquarters in New York City with his shoe manager last November, going through a pile of books filled with leather and skin samples.  Fortune relates: "They were checking how much of each material they had in stock, planning to use it up in the next collections. 'I left the room and thought, Wow,' Polet says. 'Finding ways to manage down inventory has almost become a sport.'"

So how does Pinault feel about YSL's losses? »

We are happy to report that retailers, overall, did quite well this Black Friday despite the fact that many thought there might be zero turnout at all. WWD reports that outlet and discounters did exceptionally well but even department stores saw an impressive turnout. 

There's nothing more fashionable than a well-planned dinner party--thirty dollar budget or no. The NY Times put a world renowned event planner to just that task and the results, we have to say, were quite stylish. 

You could call it the ol' Gucci Group shuffle. Fredrick Lukoff, formerly of Lanvin (extra-GG), has accepted a position as the new president and chief executive officer of Stella McCartney. Lukoff will be replacing Marco Bizzarri who will go on to join Bottega Veneta. 

Marc Jacobs (a la Louis Vuitton) is heading up a new collaboration, this one resurrected from the Vuitton archives in honor of a retrospective at Deitch Projects. Jacobs' 2001 collaboration with artist Stephen Sprouse will be reworked and re-released--giving fashion an optimistic dose of day-glo and graffiti prints come January 01.