** **

10 International Herald Tribune

Monday, October 2, 2006
Milan Menkes
The
Suzy
Collections
Cavalli and Missoni:
A nod to noble women
Continued from Page 9
more familiar girlish sexpots and it
represented a step forward for the de-
signer, who contained his lavish decor-
ation and froufrou effects within the
relatively severe silhouette.
The show was based on the small
jacket, often encrusted with embellish-
ment in relief, worn over a wispy
blouse with frothy lace jabot and a satin
bow at the neck. The effect was rich but
easily digestible and when Cavalli sent
out a single pants suit, embroidered
with Florentine lions, you could see
how the masculine part of the collec-
tion presented a genuine wardrobe.
Long dresses floating from a high
waist had more of the gypsy glamour
that is in Cavalli’s soul. But he dosed
those light confections with other su-
perb pieces, such as an oriental wrap
coat. And when he used his signature
animal print it was as an imaginative re-
invention: a dress that opened like a star
burst with the prints on winged sleeves.
This was an important collection for
Cavalli, because, after a big success in
the recent Boho-de-luxe era, his look
was threatened with irrelevance. With
this show he adapted his aesthetic beau-
tifully and proved that he is a designer
Fashion
Online market draws
South Korea shoppers
The Associated Press
SEOUL
The thumping pop music and blaring
‘‘You know me — I like anything lights at Seoul’s Dongdaemun market
easy,’’ said Missoni backstage. ‘‘The keep going all night long as shoppers
shapes and the softness came easily.’’ swarm around merchants hawking the
The nub of the collection was the latest trendy fashions at rock-bottom
modern idea of layering desirable prices.
pieces, yet making them seem not ran- South Korea’s Gmarket seems to
dom, but part of an outfit. So when a have captured the energy of that raw
dress was worn over trousers, the commerce and made a home for it on
former was in a colorful take on a cam- the Internet, creating a Web site that
ouflage print, with the chiffon pants has quickly become a top online des-
picking up one of the tones. The volume tination in this computer-savvy nation.
that was also key to the collection might It’s going head-to-head with eBay’s
bring a generously cut top — but it was Korean subsidiary.
carefully teamed with cuffed shorts. Originally launched in 2000 under a
A sporty ease, but always soft and different name, the company became
light, was insinuated as a rounded Gmarket in October 2003 and refo-
blouson with an egg-shaped skirt. Yet cused its efforts on capturing online
graphic accessories, such as bags and markets such as clothing.
even a neck plaque with geometric dec- Now, some 40 percent of Gmarket’s
oration on fine mesh, prevented the sales are from fashion.
collection from looking droopy. For consumers, it offers the variety
Missoni had brought in long skirts, of a shopping mall, said Ku Young Bae,
which were a little heavy with cargo chief executive of Gmarket.
pockets, but had a slouchy stylishness. ‘‘People try to make their own fash-
And she invented one Missoni piece ions — Gmarket is at the center of that
that looks like an instant classic: a scarf cultural trend,’’ he said in an interview
cardigan, wrapped across the body. at the company’s headquarters in the
That, as well as wrap dresses, edged in chic southern Gangnam district of
sweet colored ribbon, reinforced the Seoul.
message of the big easy. Gmarket has drawn the interest of
As the shows move on to Paris, there Yahoo in the United States, which re-
is a higher expectation than ever that cently bought a 9 percent stake. It went
Fashion International Herald Tribune
Monday, October 2, 2006 11
ternet Auction, which like its eBay par-
ent focuses on directly connecting in-
dividuals to each other to sell new and
used goods. That site plays a more neu-
tral role, instead of Gmarket’s helping
sellers manage transactions and ensur-
ing service, like monitoring shipping
and ensuring that returns are properly
handled.
Gmarket sells new goods mostly at
fixed prices, but also allows sellers to
use an auction format.
According to Internet usage statis-
tics from the online consultancy
KoreanClick, Internet Auction has
faced increasingly strong competition
with users flocking to Gmarket in re-
cent months. In August, Internet Auc-
tion had some 17.3 million unique visit-
ors, with Gmarket at 16.2 million.
While Internet Auction once held a
monopoly on the online shopping mar-
ket here, Gmarket has changed the situ-
ation into an oligopoly of two domi-
nant players, said an analyst at
KoreanClick, Kwon Min Jung.
Kim Li La, 29, an employee at a trad-
ing company, said she shops once a
week at Gmarket, purchasing mostly
low-cost clothes as a way to relieve
stress. She said she doesn’t worry about
problems associated with online buy-
ing, such as identity theft, because the Photographs by Richard Harbus for the International Herald Tribune
site has a reputation for security. From left, above and below, Maria Luisa, one of the few high-fashion store in Paris where big names mix with the small; Spree in Montmartre mixes its entire selection like a personal closet; Montaigne Market, a sleek 380-square-meter store that opened about a year ago.
‘‘The price is cheap, delivery is fast
and above all Gmarket is more reliable’’

The ‘monobrand’ capital discovers the eclectic

with more than one ribbon to his bow.
Angela Missoni has the advantage of
being a woman designer in a big fash-
ion family. And there was a sense in
this fine collection that after a few sea-
sons of channeling the desires of her
sparky young daughters, she had de-
cided to focus on herself. Out went the
super-young, super-short silhouette
and crazy mixes. In came a new fluid-
ity and femininity.
the City of Light must shine. For all the public in June, offering shares on the
beautiful and luxurious clothes in Mi- Nasdaq Stock Market, and is pondering
lan, there was often a disconnect be- future expansion, with an eye to enter-
tween runway and reality. And there ing Japan next year and later moving
was little sense that these clothes or into China and the United States.
even the accessories would enthuse po- The company, which doesn’t stock in-
tential clients to keep the mills turning ventory, offers online storefronts and a
and the tills ringing. variety of tools to make it easier for
sellers to set up shop and manage inven-
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of tory. Gmarket handles payments, earn-
the International Herald Tribune. ing its revenue from transaction fees
that vary depending on the product.
ICEBERG The value of all the merchandise
than other sites, said Kim.
David Chung, an executive director
at Goldman Sachs, said Gmarket was
able to take advantage of South Korea’s
well-established Internet infrastruc-
ture and payment systems to offer a
unique way for merchants to sell to on-
line customers.
‘‘We did not see any markets with
this model able to offer this kind of op-
portunity for sellers,’’ said Chung,
whose company was an underwriter
for Gmarket’s U.S. stock offering.
By Rebecca Voight
PARIS
This city has notoriously been high
and dry on great shops that mix design-
er labels. It falls in line with the old ad-
age that shoemaker’s children are
badly shod.
are often easier to find in Tokyo or New
York than Paris. In fact, stores that mix
big names with new ones have become
a worldwide rarity. The emergence of
luxury brand temples over the past 10
years has put specialty stores, which
depend on an innovative buyer to come
up with an intriguing selection, on fash-
runs a Chloé franchise in Monaco.
Although she is a Parisian, Jossua
maintains that her toughest customers
are Parisians, who make up 40 percent
of the clientele. ‘‘They aren’t familiar
with many labels and they don’t under-
stand at first why a new one with some-
thing great is in the same price range as
be shown with other labels,’’ she added.
‘‘The image has to be just right. If you
can present them in a new, exciting way
they see it as a plus.’’
While stores like Montaigne Market
stock their labels in corners, or at least
on separate racks, Spree in Montmartre
mixes its entire selection like a person-
Bruno Hadjadj took the gamble of
opening Spree five years ago because
they believed in Oprandi’s knack to se-
lect the right pieces, and that the arty
neighborhood was full of fashion lovers
who would take notice.
The risk was well worth it. Spree has
opened a second location on Rue Saint-

Trend alert: Season highlights traded on Gmarket’s site in the second Gmarket hopes its model can also Sure, this is Europe’s capital for lux- ion’s endangered species list. a big name,’’ she said. al closet. And so a pair of Acne jeans Simon in the tony Seventh Arrondisse-
Christopher Moore/Karl Prouse
quarter of this year was 543.8 billion work abroad. The company is looking ury shopping, but that reputation comes But what goes around comes around. The store’s selection reflects her fre- hangs next to one of Comme des Gar- ment and the store, furnished with

Iceberg, anything but cold

won, or $567 million, a 163 percent in- to open a Japanese site next year where from monobrand emporiums like Louis Today, some of the hottest new fashion quent travels. It mixes French stan- çons’ sweaters, followed by a print great pieces from Knoll and other clas-
µ Legs: on display in barely-there shorts or wider cuffed styles. crease from the same period in 2005. it will take on the dominant online Vuitton’s larger-than-life flagship on stores in Paris are all about juxtaposi- dards like YSL, Lanvin and Alaïa with dress from Tsumori Chisato. A funny sic 1950s to early ’80s designs sourced
µ Skirts: short and rounded or long and soft. Nothing knee length. The site has more than 9.2 million seller Rakuten. With the intensely the Champs-Élysées and the cool gray tion. such American newcomers as Lib- tweed jacket by Kristina Ti, a young by Hadjadj, is frequently cleaned out.
µ Dresses: volume in 1960s triangular shifts or high-waist bubbles; long and registered users in a country of 48 mil- brand-conscious Japanese loyal to es- home of Dior on Avenue Montaigne. For The biggest splash to date is Mon- ertine, Benhaz Sarafpour and Zac Korean designer who works in New ‘‘A customer who is opening her own
floaty.
µ Pants: cropped, soft and wide, wispy, disappearing under tunics.
µ Jackets: sportswear revival with mesh inserts; shrunken bolero lengths;
G iambattista Valli, designer of the
Iceberg line sent out a sporty, fun-
in-the-sun show, one filled with
soleil cream. But this was just the de-
signer’s way of cleansing the audi-
ence’s palette for his summer evening
lion people, with the most active being
women in their 20s and 30s.
Choi Sang Hyun tried but failed at
tablished names, Gmarket will likely
face a struggle to establish its presence.
In the United States, the company
the latest from Lou Lou de la Falaise,
customers go directly to her store on
Rue Cambon before they visit Chanel’s
taigne Market. The sleek 380-square-
meter, or 4,000-square-foot, store that
opened about a year ago is one of the
Posen. There are also hand embroidery
from India by Megan Park and fun
items like Australia’s Tsubi jeans.
York, hangs next to a casual top from
the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection.
Not all of these stores are position-
store and restaurant in Korea bought
all the furniture here recently’’ he said.
‘‘I have to redecorate all the time and
matador tailored. minidresses spiced up with a bit of ath- dresses. All of the sudden Valli’s years running a brick-and-mortar shop, and would face leading online merchants historic home on the same street, where first on Avenue Montaigne to offer a se- Montaigne Market’s style is savvier, ing themselves on prime real estate. If sometimes there’s nothing in here.’’
µ Blouses: dickie or bib front tucks; lace, ribbon ties and full sleeves. letic netting or industrial zippers snak- at Emanuel Ungaro burst through with he’s found more success with online like Amazon.com and eBay, and China Mademoiselle once designed above the lection. For the partners, Liliane Jossua more casual and younger than the you had not heard about Spree you Spree is also on the map of visiting re-
µ Fabrics: must-have shine from duchess satin to patent leather, vinyl and ing across the bodice. To toughen a tropical zing of hot pink, tangerine, malls like Gmarket, where he offers poses its own issues due to a lack of ad- shop and where Karl Lagerfeld hangs and Alain Celhay, it was essential that total-look presentations on the rest of would never find it because it is tucked tailers who check in to see what its
plastic. Athletic mesh, gauze, chiffon and metal mesh. things up a bit, jackets and cropped emerald green and lemon yellow, palm trendy clothes aimed at young women. vanced payment systems. his tape measure today. it be on Avenue Montaigne or the the street, which is why big brands have away on Rue la Vieuville, one of the latest discovery is every time they
µ Bags: ultra big or tiny, from pouchy sacks to rectangular purses pants were adorned with oversized tree-print short dresses. Their lightly ‘‘There were limitations selling offline, Still, Gmarket’s executives say they With notable exceptions like Maria Champs-Élysées. ‘‘So many of the cus- opened their doors to her. ‘‘Lanvin fol- quietest streets in the neighborhood. come to Paris.
µ Shoes: metallic, mirrored, clear Lucite for club-sandwich platforms. metallic buttons, while the use of para- ruffled hems should billow nicely in so I studied the Internet,’’ said Choi, 34, aren’t aiming to dominate the global Luisa and Colette, the concept of a high- tomers I have are foreigners. This was lowed us from the start because I’ve But for well informed fashion ad- Oprandi, who worked as a photo styl-
µ Colors: overwhelmingly silver, gold and all metallics; white; pigments like chute fabric to create skirts and dresses the warm winds of next summer’s who now makes his living from online online marketplace — yet. They also fashion store where big names mix with one of the only locations here I was had a lot of experience and they know dicts the store has become a great ist for fashion magazines, spends most
cobalt blue and marigold; or smudgy mauve, kingfisher and gray. Graphic also added to the military undertone. steamy nights. sales. are still working to determine how to the small has been left to the rest of the sure they would come,’’ said Jossua, me,’’ Jossua said. source for fascinating clothes that don’t of her time in showrooms going over
patterns with geometrical lines and curves. The clothes shimmered in colors of Gmarket’s model is different from use their alliance with Yahoo to fuel fu- world. This has meant that emerging who established her two Calypso stores ‘‘But brands with their own stores look like a head-to-toe fashion ad. the collections rather than at fashion
sandy gold, sun-burnt brown and après — Jessica Michault the other top Korean online retailer, In- ture growth. fashion labels, many of them French, on Saint Bart’s 12 years ago and also are very cautious about how they will Roberta Oprandi and the sculptor shows. ‘‘It’s very important to get the
right pieces,’’ she said. ‘‘Our creative in-
put comes in how we select from a col-
lection and what we mix it with.’’
Sandy Bontout opened her shop, Les
Belles Images, after working as a buyer
for the department store Galeries Lafa-
yette, followed by a stint at Onward
Kashiyama. ‘‘There is too much hier-
archy at department stores,’’ she said.
‘‘The only way to tell my story was to

Black open my own shop.’’

Bontout, who doubles as the sales
manager for the young French designer

is back, à
Veronique Leroy, has a fearless quality.
Her store, in a 1950s-style storefront on
Rue Charlot behind Place de la Répub-
lique, is surrounded by cash-and-carry

la Hepburn wholesalers. But the neighborhood is

also filled with art galleries and young,
trendy Parisians who want to look
unique.
The store and Bontout’s personal
Reuters style are inseparable. A faded ’50s fem-
ininity reigns with a mix of ladylike
NEW YORK Pringle and Vivienne Westwood items,

T
he Hollywood legend
Audrey Hepburn is back in
vogue as a style icon more
than 13 years after her death — but
a biographer fears the revival will
feed a misconceived image of the
actress, who never cared much
about fashion.
Hepburn, who is often named
as one of the most beautiful wom-
en of all time, is inspiring the
new season’s fashion line-up
with her classic but simple
style of skinny black pants,
flat pumps and little, black
dresses.
The retailer Gap is lead-
ing the drive, using pictures
of the actress in skinny
black pants on billboards
and in a television and Web
ad, dancing in the 1957
movie ‘‘Funny Face’’ set to
the rock band AC/DC’s
song ‘‘Back in Black.’’
Another U.S. retailer, J.
Crew, has set up a Little
Black Dress Shop in its
stores.
The author Donald Spoto, who this
week released a new biography on the
Oscar-winning actress called ‘‘En-
chantment: The Life of Audrey Hep-
burn,’’ said he is not surprised by the
renewed focus on Hepburn.
‘‘Audrey Hepburn represents a kind
of elegance that may be especially ap-
preciated in an era of torn jeans. Her
combination of modesty and simplicity
are a wonderful corrective in these
times of vulgar and empty celebrity,’’
he said.
But he said he felt this emphasis on
fashion and style minimized Hepburn’s
significant achievements as an actress.
Later in life Hepburn was very active in
humanitarian work.
He said it ‘‘also directly contradicts
her own sense of values, which did not
place clothes very highly on a list of im-
portant things.’’
Hepburn, who died of colon cancer
in 1993 aged 63, always played down her
own beauty, saying her look was attain-
able.
‘‘Women can look like Audrey Hep-
burn by flipping out their hair, buying
the large sunglasses, and the little
sleeveless dresses,’’ she once said.
The Gap, via Reuters pieces from small French brands like
Audrey Hepburn Mont Saint Michel and basics from
from the film Lacoste. ‘‘I think my customer is kind of
‘‘Funny Face’’ a femme-enfant,’’ she said, using a term
(1957), as seen in meaning ‘‘woman-child.’’
an ad for ‘‘She likes feminine things, but she’s
The Gap. also a working girl and needs suits,’’
Bontout added.
Some Paris independents have be-
come institutions. Armand Hadida has
run his store L’Éclaireur with an inde-
pendent spirit for 25 years, but that
does not mean he has stayed put.
Hadida is a great believer in change,
and he has managed to stay a few steps
ahead of the pack, even after many of
the brands he introduced went on to
open their own stores and become his
competition.
L’Éclaireur now has five shops in
Paris and a new franchise store in
Tokyo’s trendy Minami Aoyama neigh-
borhood.
The new Paris store on Rue Boissy
d’Anglas in the Eighth Arrondissement
is quite a surprise for L’Éclaireur
habitués who never thought he would
venture beyond arty neighborhoods
like the Marais. This is where his store
But her classic style has endured and was the first to turn the Rue des Rosiers
remained in demand. The black into a fashion hub, and Rue Hérold, a
Givenchy dress she wore in the 1961 secretive location near the Place de
movie ‘‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’’ is expec- Victories, into something like a private
ted to sell at an auction in December club for devotees of Dries Van Noten
for about $100,000. and Ann Demeulemeester.
Spoto said he wrote about Hepburn The rise of luxury brand stores has
because he was disappointed in previ- made Hadida ever more attentive about
ous works on her, with the actress his role as a buyer, which for him trans-
treated as a ‘‘stained glass window fig- lates into something like a style path-
ure’’ rather than a human being who finder to search out the most exciting
str uggled. design available.
His book reveals Hepburn desper- ‘‘I’m not really looking for what’s
ately wanted children but had bad luck new because right now there are so
with famous boyfriends who were many great things out there that aren’t
sterile. exploited,’’ he said.
She did finally have a son, Sean, with The recent London fashion week left
the American actor Mel Ferrer in 1960. Hadida cold. ‘‘I can’t really do anything
Sean Ferrer allowed Gap to use his with a young designer if the ideas aren’t
mother in their campaign with a signif- matched by quality,’’ he said. The new
icant donation to be made to the store is Hadida’s first crack at uptown
Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund. She femininity, with his personal take on
had another son in 1970 with second Versace mixed with dressy young la-
husband, the Italian psychologist An- bels like Gustavo Lins and Italy’s Haute
drea Doretti. and — why not? — a few well chosen Above, the exterior, entrance and
‘‘The most surprising thing was the pieces from Oscar de la Renta. displays at a new branch of L’Éclaireur
constant thread of heartache and dis- International Herald Tribune in the Eighth Arrondissement. Armand
appointment in her life, which she bore Hadida has been running his stores in
with magnificent grace and courage,’’ Rebecca Voight is co-editor in chief of the trendy Marais neighborhood for 25
said Spoto. Zoo magazine. years.