Posts Tagged ‘Marios Schwab’

14 July, 2009 by Imran Amed, Editor

Marios Schwab | In conversation with Halston’s new Creative Director

LONDON, United Kingdom — After months of speculation and almost a year of going without a head designer, Halston announced in May that it had appointed Marios Schwab, the half-Austrian half-Greek Lond0n-based designer, as its new Creative Director.

Many in the industry breathed a sigh of relief. Amongst the various names that had been bandied around in the rumour mill, including Olivier Theyskens (apparently the strong choice of Anna Wintour), Schwab’s name was the one that seemed to create the most excitement amongst fashion insiders for his potential to develop commercially viable collections in the spirit of the brand’s DNA.

Making the final cut was no easy task. Amongst others, Schwab had to pass the muster of board members including Bonnie Takhar, Halston’s CEO, Harvey Weinstein, the notoriously demanding Hollywood heavyweight and investor in the Halston brand, and Tamara Mellon, Founder and President of Jimmy Choo. With a vested stake in the Halston brand, each of these big guns also knew that their decision would directly impact the bottom line at a critical time for the newly-relaunched label.

I caught up recently with Marios on a sunny day at London’s Shoreditch House to learn more about his decision to join Halston, his plans for balancing two labels, and his advice for young designers just starting out in the business of fashion.

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20 May, 2009 by Khaleed Juma

BoF Daily Digest | Saks reasses, Marios to Halston, PVH loses but stays steady, Kate Moss for Topshop, The model/designer

Saks S/S 09 ad campaign, courtesy fo Saks

Saks S/S 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Saks

Saks swings to a loss as demand falters (MarketWatch)
“Saks Inc. swung to a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss Tuesday after the luxury retailer controlled inventory and expenses amid faltering demand for upscale goods.”

Halston Taps Marios Schwab as Creative Director (WWD)
“Ending one of the most speculated-about searches in recent months, Halston has tapped London-based designer Marios Schwab as its new creative director effective July.” (Subscription required)

Phillips-Van Heusen profit falls but beats Street (Reuters)
“Phillips-Van Heusen Corp, owner of the Calvin Klein brand, said on Tuesday that its quarterly net income fell, hurt by lower sales, but the results were better than Wall Street expected.”

Topshop unveils Kate Moss high summer collection (Drapers)
“Topshop has unveiled its high summer Kate Moss for Topshop collection which hits stores tomorrow.”

Models: Taking Business Into Their Own Hands (Forbes)
“While the supermodels of the ’80s–Linda, Naomi, Christy–were content with walking the runways and playing muse to the likes of Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld, today’s top models have their eye on their own fashion design careers. Say goodbye to the supermodel and hello to today’s model/designer.”

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21 September, 2008 by Imran Amed, Editor

The Swiss Textiles Award | Fashion’s crystal ball

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ZURICH, Switzerland – The Swiss Textiles Award is not the richest fashion design prize available — the 300,000 euro prize from Mango takes that category. But, over the past 5 years it has emerged as perhaps the most influential award of its kind, and the only one to operate with a global remit.

In 2003, a little-known Belgian designer named Raf Simons won the prize and went on to wow fashion critics, who were now playing close attention to his work. Cathy Horyn had this to say of his Simons’ men’s 2005 Spring/Summer collection, shown in Paris in July 2004:

What Mr. Simons did in an instant was to render the day, and most of the previous one of the spring men’s collections, obsolete. In 18 years of reporting on fashion, the last 5 at this post, I have stood up from only a handful of shows with a conviction that everything had been transformed.

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20 September, 2007 by Imran Amed, Editor

London Fashion Week: The creativity and commerce conundrum

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As I looked out on the waiting crowd for Giles Deacon’s show last evening, there was something special in the air. Where else could you see wunderkind Gareth Pugh nestled next to Italian eccentric Anna Piaggi and Vogue’s Hamish Bowles and a raft of other notable fashion names, all crammed into a tiny space in a small schoolhouse waiting for a fashion show to start? No New York designer of similar repute would even think of forcing the fashion A-list into this cramped setting. But then again, the fashion A-list probably wouldn’t even bother turning up to a show in a similarly  uncomfortable setting for a New York designer.

London fashion is officially hot again.  And, this time it’s not just hype. Many of the New York collections were well-executed and wearable, but they were limited in terms of new ideas and came off feeling a bit flat. London has thrown this flatness into sharp relief. There has been a renewed sense of confidence about fashion in London this week, yet there could be a lot more reflection on why things haven’t worked out for London in the past after other short-lived periods of creative renaissance — and a great deal of this has to do with the business of fashion, not the creative side.

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