Steve Madden Purchasing Brian Atwood
There are major changes at Brian Atwood – after eight months of negotiations, the upscale shoe designer and Steven Madden Ltd. have acquired the Brian Atwood intellectual property and assets for an undisclosed amount. These assets acquired by Atwood and Madden include both the Brian Atwood and B Brian Atwood brands, which will now operate as a separate division of Steve Madden, with Atwood holding a minority stake. Atwood will maintain creative control with Madden’s design team following through with the execution of those designs. Madden said he plans on tripling Atwood’s business in the upcoming year. “Brian Atwood is a premier designer and he’s also American, which I love, although everybody gets upset when I say that. When you go to the floors at Barneys, there aren’t many American designers. Brian is a Midwest boy and he’s brilliant. We like that,” Madden said. Atwood’s Madison Avenue store was closed recently, but the designer is currently looking at possible sites for a new flagship. Atwood is also considering expansion opportunities for his luxury line.
Nordstrom Delays Canadian Openings
Nordstrom is postponing the opening of Nordstrom Rack stores in Canada. “It was really an internal business decision that we made some time ago. We underestimated how complex the challenges will be Canada. Virtually every system we have has to be tweaked or redone in some way,” said a spokeswoman for the retailer. Nordstrom previously announced it would start opening Rack outlets in Canada in 2015, but now is delayed until 2017. The department store will still have a new presence in Canada with a regular Nordstrom store opening in Calgary in fall 2014. The company’s goal is to have nine department stores and 15 Rack outlets in Canada.
Marion Cotillard Fronts Lady Dior Campaign
French actress Marion Cotillard is featured in the latest campaign for Lady Dior, set to debut this week in Vogue Brazil and Vanity Fair. A behind the scenes clip from the photo shoot will also be featured on Diormag.com on Thursday. The images, shot by photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino, show Cotillard wearing looks from the Dior pre-fall collection by Raf Simons and carrying several new versions of the bag. The actress has fronted Lady Dior ads since 2008.
– Claire Mykrantz
Source: WWD, WSJ
Images: WWD
