Rihanna’s New Campaign, Kate Moss Scores Another One, and More Changes to NYFW

Image courtesy of the huffingtonpost.com

Image courtesy of the huffingtonpost.com

Mega pop star Rihanna continues to rack it up!! From her hit fashion reality show Styled to Rock, to her signature fashion line with River Island, Rihanna is turning into a fashin juggernaut.

Now add to RiRi’s many accomplishments her Balmain spring 2014 campaign. “Rihanna embodies my vision of Balmain in this new campaign,” stated Balmain creative director Oliver Rousteing to WWD. “In front of the camera, she makes you feel like she is the only girl in the world.”

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin photographed Balmain’s spring 2014 campaign in New York City. Rihanna was styled for the campaign by her personal stylist Mel Ottenberg.

When the woman that inspires you wears your creations, your vision feels complete,” explained Rousteing. So, what’s next Rihanna, world domination? Hmm

David Tlale spring 2014

David Tlale spring 2014

The times they are a’ changing

 Last week IMG announced lots of changes to NYFW’s upcoming fall/winter 2014 season. IMG is reducing the media list by 20%, as well as adding less expensive venues for designers to show their collections.

To rectify the overlapping of shows, the CFDA and the Fashion Calendar have teamed up to coordinate the 350-plus runway shows and presentations. This collaboration comes on the heels of designers, editors, buyers, and press complaining that NYFW has become too overcrowded and not pleasant for fashion insiders.

The CFDA will have the fashion week schedule on its website, organized by men’s wear, women’s wear, venue, runway shows and presentations.

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Image courtesy of Eleven Paris

Kate, Kate everywhere

At 39, Kate Moss appears not to be slowing down. At the age where most models have long thrown in the towel, Moss, season after season wins campaigns with some of the top brands in the industry.

Moss scored another win by recently being named the face of French fashion brand, Eleven Paris’ spring/summer 2014 campaign, photographed by British photographer Craig McDean. Add this campaign to her cover of the 60th anniversary issue of Playboy, her new position as a contributing writer for British Vogue and countless campaigns.

So I guess you could say with Kate, age is just a number.

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Victoria Secret Model Defection, Fashion Week Wastefulness, and New York Loses Y-3

Victorias-Secret-Fashion-Show-2012Defections at model management companies are commonplace. But when a top booker leaves a major company, starts his own and takes some Victoria Secret’s models with him, it’s worth taking note.

Former  Women’s Management booking agent, Ali Kauvoussi, has left Women after six years to start his own model management company, The Lions. And he’s taking Victoria Secret’s models, Jessica Hart and Anne V, with him, as well as Angela Lindvall, Irina Shayk, and Guinvere van Seenus.

The Lions will take up residence in Soho.

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Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders

Fashion week grumblings

IMG announced this week that there will be substantial changes to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week for the upcoming fashion season. But surprisingly, the designer making the most noise about Fashion Week is a designer that does not show at Lincoln Center.

Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders recently expressed in the latest issue of Apartamento magazine his frustration over excessive runway shows and presentations and his ongoing annoyance with the fashion press.

“The fashion industry is retarded. It doesn’t make sense. There is too much product out there and when you’re a wholesale business it’s really impossible to resolve. You can’t, because if you want to be in a store like Barney’s, you can’t just deliver twice a year. You can’t just have two runway shows,” said Sternberg in Apartamento magazine.

“There’s this layer in fashion in between me and the person buying the clothes, which is the buyers and the press. They’re this kind of hilarious community, this council of judges. They love a dog and pony show. They complain about it to no end.”

Well, hopefully Sternberg’s complaining will end in time for Band of Outsiders to put on a great show during New York Fashion Week.

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Sayonara New York

Y-3 says goodbye to New York Fashion Week for its fall/winter 2015 collection. The brand has decided to show in Paris starting this coming January. Y-3, a partnership between Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas has shown during New York Fashion Week since the inception of the company in 2003.

Y-3 will show in Paris on January 19 during the Paris men’s shows at a location yet to be determined. Yamamoto also hopes to present his namesake collection, Yohji Yamamoto, in Paris in the new future. Y-3 is following in the path of an ever-growing number of designers that are choosing to bypass NYC for Paris and Milan. The powers that be should take note!!

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Kate Moss’ New Cover, Gap Takes a Stand, and Another Factory Fire

Image courtesy of Mert Alas and Matthew Piggott

One thing you can say about supermodel Kate Moss, she doesn’t rest on her laurels or let moss grow under her feet. And we cannot get enough of her.

Kate’s latest fait accompli is her cover for the double January/February issue of Playboy magazine.  Kate poses in an unprecedented 18-page spread photographed by Mert Alas and Matthew Piggott. A teaser of the photo editorial was released in November with Kate Moss wearing a black strapless leotard with signature bunny ears and tail.

Image courtesy of AFP/Taziana Fabi

Image courtesy of AFP/Taziana Fabi

The fire now and possibly next time

On Sunday at least seven people were killed in a Chinese-owned clothing factory in Prato, Italy. Workers were trapped in an improvised dormitory-styled lodging inside the building. Sources say that 11 workers had been accommodated in makeshift, cardboard sleeping compartments above a warehouse in the Macrolotto industrial district of the town, a region known for its large number of garment factories.

“This is a disgrace for all of us, because we have to recognize this reality for what it is: the biggest concentration of illegal employment in northern and central Italy,” said Enrico Rossi, president of the region of Tuscany in a fashionmag.com article.

Prato, which has over 4,000 Chinese-owned businesses, has the largest concentration of Chinese immigrants in Italy.

“No one can say they are surprised at this because everyone has known for years that, in the area between Florence and Prato, hundreds if not thousands of people are living and working in conditions of near-slavery,” Roberto Pistonina, secretary general of the Florence and Prato section of the CISL trade union, said on his Facebook page.

Roberto Cenni, the mayor of Prato is in talks with Interior Minister Angelino Alfano to combat the illegal “parallel district” which had grown up around the factories.

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Gap fierceness

The Gap is fighting back. After racist remarks were scrawled on The Gap’s recent “Make Love” ad campaign that features fashion personality Waris Ahluwalia and model Quentin Jones, prompted by the defaced ad on Twitter posted by a senior editor at Islamic MonthIy, the Gap has decided to take a stand.

To counter the scrawls that said “Please Stop Driving Taxis,” and “Make Bombs,” the Gap changed its Twitter and Facebook background to photos of Waris Ahluwalia. The Sikh community in support of Gap has responded positively by tweeting the original ad campaign and images of Gap’s newly changed Facebook and Twitter background.

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Lady Gaga’s New Gig, Armani Joins Chamber of Commerce, and the LVMH Prize

Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

It is confirmed, Lady Gaga is the new face of Versace. On Saturday, the Versace brand tweeted that Lady Gaga is the new face of its spring/summer 2014 campaign. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott will photograph the spring/summer 2014 campaign.

Gaga has been a fan of Versace for sometime, having the iconic Italian design house dress her stage outfits for 2012 “Born This Way” concert tour. And for the spring/summer 2014 campaign, Lady Gaga dons a long, straight blonde wig, conjuring images of Donatella Versace.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

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LVMH wants young blood

LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) in its search for new design talent has created the LVMH Prize. Emerging designers from around the world can compete for the $405,000 grant along with one year of coaching.

Designers must be between the ages of 18 to 40 and have shown commercially two ready-to-wear collections. Throughout the competition, contestants’ work will be displayed on LVMHprize.com website, with the semifinal contestants being flown to Paris during Fashion Week in March 2014. Registration is open until February 2.

Semifinalists will show off their collections at the LVMH auditorium on Avenue Montaigne. Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquière, Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo, Riccardo Tisci, Humberto Leon, and Carol Lim will judge the ten finalists.

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Giorgio Armani’s new affiliation

It has taken some time but Giorgio Armani has finally joined the Italian Chamber of Commerce (CNMI).  The CNMI was formed in 1990, uniting over 140 Italian labels and fashion houses across the country.

Armani joins the CNMI on the heels of being struck from the Milan fashion calendar in May 2013 after declining invitations to join the organization. Dolce & Gabbana was also removed for Milan’s official fashion calendar in May of 2013 for failure to join the CNMI.

In the past, Armani has been critical of Italian fashion houses that have opted to skip Milan Fashion Week in favor of fashion weeks in Paris and other international fashion capitals. “While I still believe that all Italian brands should hold their fashion shows in Italy to give due prominence to our country, as an entrepreneur I understand that certain situations, created over the years, need time to be reorganized,” Armani told WWD.

“In the hope that other Italian companies follow this example, in the meantime it seems only right, and indeed necessary, for me to send a further strong signal of commitment and confidence aimed at boosting an upswing in the vitality of Italian fashion and, at the same time, to show a sign of support for the actions undertaken by the other brand members of the Italian Chamber of Italian Fashion,” Armani continued.

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Jay Z Moves Forward in Barneys’ Collaboration, Pitbull’s Perfume, and Burberry’s Helping Hand

Jay_Z_04The saga continues. On Friday, via a statement on his website, Jay Z announced his decision to move forward with Barneys’ on their holiday collaboration.

“I am in a unique position to use my voice to affect change to this disturbing issue. The easy position would have been to walk away and leave policy making to others hoping that someone addresses the problem. I will not leave the outcome to others. I will take this into my own hands with full power to recommend, review and revise policies and guidelines moving forward. I am choosing to take this head on,” explained Jay Z.

The rap mogul’s luxury, limited-edition collaboration with Barneys, which contains products by Lanvin, Balmain, Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and Rick Owens does has some new requirements.  Jay Z will have “a leadership role and seat on a council specifically convened to deal with the issue of racial profiling.” And 100 percent of the sales from the collaboration will go toward the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, up from the original 25 percent.

Really? So, how does Barneys make any money from this collaboration? Hmm, we shall see.

Burberry_Christopher_Bailey

Getting a little help from friends

Christopher Bailey will be getting some much needed help at Burberry. As the recently named chief executive of the 157-year old British mega brand, the added responsibilities coupled with his job as creative director might  spread the 42-year old Bailey’s talents too thin.

“I think they are being very sensible about it, they’ve calmed people down a bit,” one top 30 shareholder in the firm anonymously told Reuters. “He’s [Bailey] surrounded by good people and they came internally … I’m feeling reassured.”

Luc Goidadan, who has worked alongside Bailey for 12 years, will help Bailey mitigate some of his added duties in Goidadan’s new role as creative design officer. “This will allow me to continue to remain fully involved in setting the creative direction and vision for the brand,” says Bailey.

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Pitbull’s sweet smells

Another celeb launching a fragrance; when is enough, enough? We have survived Jennifer Lopez’s JLove, Forever Glowing, Still, Love & Glamour, and Glow; Heidi Klum’s Shine; America’s Next Top Model’s Dream Come True, and even Donald Trump’s Success by Trump.

Well, move over Donald Trump, JLo, and any other celebs, recording artist Pitbull has thrown his hat into the fragrance ring. Aptly named, Pitbull, WWD reports that Pitbull will be launching a pair of women’s and men’s fragrances at a Miami concert on New Year’s Eve.

“When we started talking about it, it was about very sexy smells. The woman can wear the men’s cologne and the man can wear the women’s perfume,” explained Pitbull to WWD.

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Formichetti’s Bondage Appeal at Diesel, Elle Brazil’s New Kind of Woman, and Adele Shuns L’Oreal

nicola-formichetti-2Diesel artistic director Nicola Formichetti sets provocation on its head in the brand’s new accessories campaign. Since his arrival at Diesel in April, Formichetti has focused his creative juices on redefining the denim brand’s DNA.

Dubbed “Erotica,” Diesel’s capsule accessories line gives a nod to bondage and a little slap and tickle. Divided into themes “Bullet” and “Bondage,” the accessories line features shoes, bags and other accessories. The faces of the all-black accessories line are top model Tessa Kuragi and Formichetti’s new muse underground rap artist, Brooke Candy.

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Not just another pretty face

We all admit that Adele is a plus-size beauty, and L’Oreal thought so too by offering her a $12 million dollar campaign as the new face of L’Oreal. Though both parties were close to signing a deal, the British pop star backed out.

In an interview in the UK’s Telegraph, Adele stated,” “I think it’s shameful when you sell out. It depends what kind of artist you wanna be but I don’t want my name anywhere near another brand. I don’t wanna be tainted or haunted.”

Hmm, let’s hope she keeps selling lots of albums and not be haunted by the $12 million she just passed up.

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Brazil’s transitioned beauty

Brazil has had a history of beautiful women who started life out genetically as men. Still, none of these wonders of gender re-assignment can match the beauty and success of top model Lea T. Brazilian transsexual Lea T graces the cover of Elle Brazil’s December 2013 issue.

Though this is not the first cover landed by the Brazil top model—she landed the cover of Love Magazine, kissing Kate Moss—this is her first cover of a major fashion glossy. She has had featured editorials in Vogue Paris, Hercules, Interview, Love and Cover magazines.

The face of Givenchy in 2010 and a favorite of Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci for her Elle Brazil cover, Lea T is adorned in a Givenchy tropical print jacket and dress. Lea T is the daughter of popular Brazilian football player Toninho Cerezo.

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Move Over David Beckham, Ralph Lauren’s Homegrown Olympic Wear, and Blake Lively Serves Face

 

Image courtesy of cr7underwear.com

Image courtesy of CR7underwear.com

Move over David Beckham; make room for Christiano Ronaldo. Since retiring from soccer, David Beckham has upped the ante on his modeling career with multiple underwear campaigns with H&M, as well as some fragrance ads. But it appears that there is another soccer player in town that is making temperatures rise and hearts flutter over his recent underwear ads for the CR7 underwear collection.

The brainchild of Portuguese soccer superstar, Christiano Ronaldo and menswear designer Richard Chai, CR7 is an underwear line in black and white for men and young boys, recently launched in Madrid, Spain. Danish underwear and sock company, JBS, is the company behind CR7. JBS is Scandinavia’s largest underwear and sock manufacturer.

Currently, Christiano Ronaldo is the highest paid soccer player in the world. Ronaldo plays for the Real Madrid team.

Image courtesy of L'orealparis.com

Image courtesy of L’orealparis.com

Blake’s new job

Blake Lively joins actress Julianne Moore and Freida Pinto has one of the new faces of L’Oreal Paris. Lively came to prominence on the hit television series, Gossip Girls and in 2011 was the face of Chanel’s Mademoiselle bags.

“Blake embodies all the modern codes of Hollywood glamour. She is flashing a substantial swath of upper elegance and sensuality,” said Cyril Chapuy, brand global president of L’Oréal Paris. “Today, this strong charismatic and definitely glowing actress is joining the L’Oréal Paris family. And we’re so proud to welcome her.”

Image courtesy of latimes.com

Image courtesy of latimes.com

Ralph Lauren makes good with the Winter Olympics

Outsourcing is not in the cards for Ralph Lauren. Well, at least it’s not when it comes to making the United States team’s 2014 Winter Olympic uniforms.

After the much talked about and debated scandal concerning the American team’s 2012 Summer Olympic uniforms—designed by Ralph Lauren—being made overseas, six United States Democratic congressmen introduced the “Team USA Made In America Act of 2012.” Public outrage over the U.S. Olympic teams uniforms being made overseas caused Ralph Lauren’s company to issue a statement vowing to design, source and manufacture the Olympic uniforms stateside.

Lauren debut the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic uniforms recently on NBC’s Today Show with a five-minute video detailing the 40 American production partners. Ralph Lauren, licensed by the United States Olympic Committee, has been making Team USA’s apparel for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies since 2008.

See, some public outrage and a little protest can get the job done!!

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Another Kate at Topshop, Jeremy Scott’s New Job, Andrew Cuomo Signs Child Model Law, and Jil Sander Departs

Kate-Bosworth-7Make room Kate Moss there is another Kate in town. Well, at least there is at Topshop. For several years supermodel Kate Moss has been the Kate du jour at Topshop,  but now plus-size model Kate Bosworth is making her presence known with a new winter Topshop collection.

Bosworth has already had an affiliation with the British multinational retailer by modeling their holiday collection in 2012. However, for fall/winter 2013 Bosworth has unveiled a higher priced line for Topshop with such items as leather pants and sheepskin coats that range in price from $590 to $995, respectively, all under the name, The Collection.

WWD has described Kate Bosoworth’s line as “luxurious pieces with a strong minimalist approach” [that remained faithful to] “the mix of masculine-feminine balance that exists in my personal aesthetic.” Still, I don’t think Kate Moss has to move over quite yet.

moschino_01Changes at Moschino

Iconic Italian brand Moschino has a new creative director, Jeremy Scott. Seems like a good match. The LA–based Scott will head up a brand known for its irreverence and edgy aesthetic, similar to Scott’s own, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, the-fashion-world-be-damned, rebellious point of view.

Scott will make his runway debut for Moschino in February for the fall 2014 season. “It’s the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one,” explained Scott in a phone interview with style.com.

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Cuomo protects child models

Recently, New York Governor Mario Cuomo signed into law stricter labor protections for child models. The new labor protections establishes the following:

  • Designers have to ensure 15 percent of the model’s fee is funneled into a trust account until he or she is 18.
  • If they miss three or more consecutive days of school, they must also be provided a tutor.
  • Models under 16 must also be provided a chaperone and a nurse with pediatric experience should be on hand.
  • Employers or guardians who break the rules will face fines of between $1,000 and $3,000.

One of the sponsors of the new law, State Senator Diane Savino, expressed the following comments in a news conference, “We have brought an end to the rampant exploitation and sexual abuse of child models by giving child models the critical protections.”

While child advocates and many fashion models hail the new legislation, others like the CFDA has expressed concern over how the new law will affect casting during New York Fashion Week.

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Jil Sander says goodbye, again

OK, we have been through this before, but it looks like this time it might really stick. Jil Sander recently announced that her spring/summer 2014 collection was her last collection for her eponymous label. The 69-year old Sander’s cited that her departure was “motivated by personal reasons.”

This is not the first time Sander has exited her brand; in fact, this is the fourth time. Founded in 1968, Sander sold her brand to a Japanese company in 1999, leaving a year later, but returning for a short stint in 2003, exiting short after her return to work at Uniqlo. Sander was back on board once again 2012, but after just 18 months, Sander wants to hit the road again.

“On behalf of the group I want to thank Jil Sander for her remarkable contribution to the brand over this period,” said Jil Sander CEO Alessandro Cremonesi. “Her outstanding design and creative leadership have been crucial in reinforcing the brand and positioning it to foster further prosperous growth,” he added.

Happy trails Jil Sander!!

—William S. Gooch

Breaking Fashion News Alert: Shopping While Black and Jay Z

Barneys_NY_09You may have heard of “driving while black.” Well, “shopping while black” has now come front and center as a lawsuit by Trayon Christian, an African American college student, was filed on Tuesday in a Manhattan Supreme Court claiming that Christian was racially profiled while purchasing a $350 Salvatore Ferragamo belt at Barneys New York last April.

Trayon Christian was stopped by undercover cops that were tipped off by a Barneys’ sales clerk after Christian purchased the belt, according to the New York Post. The lawsuit states that the NYC College of Technology freshmen was asked how he could afford the purchase and was then handcuffed and booked at a local precinct.

Trayon Christian

Trayon Christian

Michael Palillo, Christian’s attorney told the New York Post, “Christian was told that his identification was false [though he had showed his debt card and ID] and that he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase.” Christian had saved up money from his part-time job to purchase the belt. Trayon Christian has since returned the belt and plans never to shop at the Madison Avenue store again.

In response to the racial profiling claim, Barneys has released the following statement, “Barneys New York typically does not comment on pending litigation. In this instance, we feel compelled to note that after carefully reviewing the incident of last April, it is clear that no employee of Barneys New York was involved in the pursuit of any action with the individual other than the sale. Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and we stand by our long history in support of all human rights.”

Image courtesy of eurweb.com

Image courtesy of eurweb.com

Coincidentally, Jay Z has been pulled into the recent “shopping while black” fray. The rap mogul has come under increasing pressure to pull out of his holiday collaboration with Barneys. As reported on Fashion Reverie, Jay Z’s and Barneys’ collaboration is “a Christmastime promotion that will include limited-edition products by designers such as Lanvin, Balenciaga, Balmain, Rick Owens, and Proenza Schouler. And 25 percent of the sales will go to Jay Z’s non-profit foundation the Shawn Carter Foundation Scholarship.”

An online petition and a barrage of messages on Twitter from fans have called on Jay Z to withdraw from his collaboration. Jay Z contends that is not making any money from the collaboration with 25 percent of the sales going to his foundation.

Defending himself, the rap mogul offered several statements. “I move and speak based on facts and not emotion,” the statement said. “I haven’t made any comments because I am waiting on facts and the outcome of a meeting between community leaders and Barneys. Why am I being demonized, denounced and thrown on the cover of a newspaper for not speaking immediately?” explains Jay Z.

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Terry Richardson’s Scandals, Opening Ceremony Collaborates with Spike Jonze, and Kate Moss Adds Another Title

terry-richardsonChange.org has started a petition against famed fashion photographer Terry Richardson. The petition call for all industry insiders and fashion magazines to stop hiring Richardson due to many claims against his misconduct on the set of editorial sets.

Alice Ehrenfried of Southhampton has launched this change.org petition entitled “Vogue, H&M, Mango, Supreme, & all other brands: Stop using alleged sex offender Terry Richardson as your photographer.” The petition explains that Richardson has exploited models, produced and “degrading pornographic imagery.”

Though Richardson has been praised over the years for his photographic genius and recently directed Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” video, several models including Coco Rocha, Rie Rasmussen, and Jamie Peck have alleged Richardson’s unprofessional behavior and sexual misconduct during editorial shoots.

So far, 5,000 people have signed the petition.

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Kate’s new job

Supermodel, designer and entrepreneur don’t seem be enough titles for Kate Moss, so she has added another. That’s right anther title and job. Recently, the prolific Kate Moss has signed on as contributing fashion editor at British Vogue.

Kate has appeared on the cover of 33 editions of British Vogue, and she will take her rightful place with other editors contributing ideas and concepts for stories and editorial spreads.

British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Schulman has stated the Moss’“depth of fashion knowledge and understanding of what makes a wonderful image will be exciting to see used in the pages of British Vogue.” Kate Moss will have a story in the 2014 spring issue of British Vogue.

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Opening Ceremony’s new capsule collection

Opening Ceremony is widening its scope by producing a capsule collection based on the new Spike Jonze’s film, Her. This is the second time the brand has collaborated with Jonze on a collection based on one of his films. The first collaboration was inspired by Jonze’s 2009 film, Where the Wild Things AreHer stars Scarlett Johanssen and Joaquin Phoenix.

The capsule collection will launch on December 1 exclusively online and in stores in New York and Los Angeles.

—William S. Gooch

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