Liz Claiborne
Shott On Location: Shhh, Best Buy! Don't Disturb the Billionaires Upstairs
Come check out the latest technology by ... Liz Claiborne?
Indeed! Chic leather handbags with removable laptop sleeves are the first items on display when you stroll down the blue-carpeted entranceway to the city's freshest Best Buy, which held its blue-and-gold-balloon-strewn grand opening on Friday at Fifteen Central Park West.
A day earlier, the retailer even held a fashion show, with an appearance by design diva Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame.
Yes, the home of the Geek Squad has gone slightly more upscale at its new Columbus Circle location. After all, who in this ritzy neighborhood wants the common Targus tote when you can get something more fashionable, say, a cute floral-patterned laptop bag by Sigrid Olsen? (Just $199.99!)
The spacious three-level location also features two swank sound-proof booths so Upper West Side shoppers can crank up the Michael Buble on titanium horn-loaded tweeters as high as 75 decibels without disturbing the sleeping billionaires in the pricey condos upstairs.
"No other store in the city has one," asserted Luiz, one of many overly friendly, earpiece-equipped employees, who seemingly outnumbered customers by about 2 to 1 on this particular afternoon.
He also pointed to the "trippy" strip of soft blue lighting in the ceiling as another amenity exclusive to the new location.
Liz Claiborne's Fire Sale
For the last ten years, Liz Claiborne seemed to be buying everything in sight, especially things that were to most of us difficult to distinguish from Liz Claiborne itself. (Ellen Tracy? Dana Buchman?)
Now it appears that the company is prepared to part with many of its 16 subsidiaries practically for the asking, so that the company can bestow all its peach-fuzzy kisses on a few younger and more prominent brands like Juicy Couture and Kate Spade.
WWD reports: read more »
Echo of Narciso: Buoyed by Claiborne Bid, Struggling Designer Accepts Award
“I’m really so happy to be here tonight, celebrating Narciso,” said the actress Claire Danes, just before presenting Narciso Rodriguez with the 2007 Pratt Institute Fashion Icon Award at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall on Wednesday, May 9. “I had the very good fortune of meeting Narciso 12 years ago, as an unpolished 16-year-old. He’s been a mentor and a friend ever since.”
Ms. read more »
