Images of Paul Marciano and Kate Upton courtesy of asiannewschannel.tv
Sexual assault claims in fashion continue. Paul Marciano, co-founder of the Guess fashion brand, has resigned amid claims of sexual assault. The allegations are currently under investigation.According to a SEC filing reported by fashionnetwork.com, Marciano “exercised poor judgment in his communications with models and photographers and in placing himself in situations in which plausible allegations of improper conduct could, and did, arise.” The Guess board of directors unanimously voted to release Paul Marciano from his duties as executive chairman but will retain Marciano as chief creative director on salary through January 30, 2019.
Two independent investigators interviewed over 40 people and reviewed 1.4 million pages of alleged sexual misconduct against Paul Marciano. According to fashionnetwork.com, the filing revealed that, “[m]any of the allegations could not be corroborated.” Five of the complainants have received over $500,000 from Marciano and Guess in settlement claims.
Famed attorney Lisa Bloom is representing four of the complainants. “Each of my clients chose to accept this settlement because it was preferable to litigation, especially given the statute of limitations, and because she still retains the right to tell her story one day if she chooses to do so,” explained Bloom.
Supermodel Kate Upton, who was once the face of Guess, has accused Marciano of sexually molestation. Lisa Bloom represents Upton. “We do not believe a man with so many credible accusations of sexual assault is fit to lead any company, much less one that sells primarily to women,” Bloom added.
Image courtesy of vmagazine.com
Bye, bye Tomas
After 17 years Tomas Maier is leaving his creative director post at Bottega Veneta. Under Maier’s helm, Bottega Veneta achieved up to $1 billion dollars in sales in 2012. However, in recent years, sales had declined.
“It’s largely due to Tomas’s high-level creative demands that Bottega Veneta became the House it is today, said Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering in a recent fashionweekdaily.com article. Pinault continued, “He put it back on the luxury scene and made it an undisputed reference. With his creative vision, he magnificently showcased the expertise of the House’s artisan. I am deeply grateful to him and I personally thank him for the work he accomplished and for the exceptional success he helped to achieve.”
It is not known who will replace Maier at Bottega Veneta.
Image courtesy of sneakernews.com
Sneaks for the 1 percent
Sneakers are big for summer 2018. And one of the must-have sneaks of the season is Adidas’ Yung 1s. However, this sneaker is for folks with deep pockets. The Yung 1 has a price point of $1500.
That’s the dicey challenge of this new Adidas release. The good new is that Adidas’ Yung 1 is part of collaboration with Wardrobe NYC, a startup that purports to simply wardrobe by getting consumers to purchase entire capsule collections. In other words, when you purchase the Yung1 you are also purchasing 8 to 10 items in a capsule collection. So, you get Yung 1 plus 8 to 10 garments for the price of $1500.
These capsule collections with the Yung 1 bundle will be available for pre-order on June 18. Still, that is a steep price for a sneaker with 8 to 10 additional athleisure garments. Hmm, the gimmick might work!!
—William S. Gooch
Speak Your Mind