By EVAN CLARK

GEORGE SOROS apparently sees opportunity at the ailing J.C. Penney Co. Inc.

Soros Fund Management bought 17.4 million shares of Penney’s, giving the prominent liberal philanthropist and investor a 7.9 percent stake, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Soros, who famously rocked the Bank of England by shorting the pound in 1992, was greet-ed heartily by other Penney’s investors. Shares of the company shot up 7.2 percent to $16.33 in after-hours trading. At that price, Soros’ stake is worth $283.9 million.

“[The investment] shows his confidence in the company,” said Walter Loeb, retail consultant. “It also shows that he thinks the return to a more promotional attitude will generate enough sales to return the com-pany to profitability.”

Penney’s lost nearly $1 billion last year and 25 per-cent of its sales as former chief executive officer Ron Johnson tried to eliminate coupons and remake the store into a series of shops-in-shop.

Price promotions are now making a return and vet-eran Myron “Mike” Ullman 3rd is again at the helm as ceo, working to calm vendors and deciding how to proceed with the shop-in-shop strategy. The company

An Eye Full

SEE PAGE 12

WWD

PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO; STYLED BY SHARON BER

DEATH TOLL MOUNTS

Bangladesh ProtestsOver Factory Tragedy

George Soros Buys7.9% of Penney’s

SEE PAGE 3

Lancôme and Alber Elbaz have joined forces to create a limited-edition makeup collection — focusing on eye-related products — that is due out worldwide on June 15. The designer reworked the packaging of the L’Oréal-owned brand’s mascaras and palettes, adding details such as stars, hearts and dots. For more, see page 6.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 $3.00 WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY

SHINING MOMENT SMALLS WORLDSILVER EMBROIDERIES ARE A TREND IN THIS SPRING’S

WEDDING DRESSES, AS SEEN HERE IN ANNA MAIER

AND MONIQUE LHUILLIER. PAGE 4

JOAN SMALLS CAUGHT THE SPOTLIGHT AT CHANEL’S ANNUAL DINNER IN HONOR OF THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL ARTISTS PROGRAM. PAGE 9

By MAYU SAINI and ARTHUR FRIEDMAN

AS THE DEATH TOLL mounted from the building collapse at Rana Plaza in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the outcry locally and around the world got louder on Thursday.

With the city and the apparel industry in turmoil, efforts continued to rescue victims trapped under debris at the eight-story building that housed several garment factories.

The number of deaths reached 230, according to estimates from officials of the fire department in Savar, leaving hundreds injured. According to police officials, the owner of Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana, is being held liable in a case filed at the police station in Savar. The building housed five garment factories, a branch of Brac Bank and a shopping complex.

The five factories included Ether Tex, New Wave Bottoms, New Wave Style, Phantom Apparels and Phantom Tac, with New Wave Style being the biggest, with more than 1,000 employees. All the companies catered to export production.

The situation on Thursday was an eerie reminder of the aftermath of the Tazreen factory fire in Dhaka in November when 112 people were killed — violence incited by mobs protesting working conditions, angry speeches by labor leaders demanding the arrest of the factory owners and placating announcements of money for the families of the dead.

“We’ve all been through this so recently,” said gar-ment worker Mariam Sheikh, who works in Savar and had friends in the building. “And we’re still fighting for survival. Is basic safety too much to ask?”

Union leaders gave speeches, including one by Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, president of the Bangladesh Textile Garment Workers’ Federation, in which he said that keeping costs low comes at a high human cost. “Fatal health and safety faults remain,” Ismail said. “Faulty electrical circuits, inadequate escape routes and unsafe equipment are some of the major causes of deaths and inju-ries in accidents.”

GUILTY VERDICT

Former Aéropostale

executive Christopher Finazzo was found guilty on all 16 counts

in his criminal trial. PAGE 3

WWD.COMWWD FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 20132

TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME@FAIRCHILDFASHION.COM, USING THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME. WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2013 FAIRCHILD FASHION MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.VOLUME 205, NO. 86. FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in March, May, June, August, October and December, and two additional issues in February, April, September and November) by Fairchild Fashion Media, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by Condé Nast: S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, Chief Executive Officer; Robert A. Sauerberg Jr., President; John W. Bellando, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer; Jill Bright, Chief Administrative Officer. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615 5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. For New York Hand Delivery Service address changes or inquiries, please contact Mitchell’s NY at 1-800-662-2275, option 7. Subscribers: If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. If during your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable, you are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions requests, please call 212-630-5656 or fax the request to 212-630-5883. For all request for reprints of articles please contact The YGS Group at condenast@theygsgroup.com, or call 800-501-9571. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild Fashion Media magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

ON WWD.COM

THE BRIEFING BOXIN TODAY’S WWD

As the death toll mounted from the building collapse at Rana Plaza in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh, the outcry locally and around the world got louder on Thursday. PAGE 1 Soros Fund Management bought 17.4 million shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc., giving George Soros, the liberal philanthropist and investor, a 7.9 percent stake in the company. PAGE 1 Kenneth Cole moderated a panel following the screening of the documentary “The Battle of amfAR” at the Tribeca Film Festival Wednesday night. PAGE 3 The judge in the Christopher Finazzo criminal trial gave her final instructions Thursday morning before sending the case to the panel of 12 to begin their deliberations. PAGE 3 Lancôme has teamed with Alber Elbaz to conceive his first signature makeup collection. PAGE 6 Designer Olivia Putman has left her mark on the newest L’Air du Temps limited-edition bottle. PAGE 6 E.l.f. Cosmetics quietly opened its first retail flagship in New York’s Greenwich Village last week. PAGE 8 Fueguia 1833, a body and home fragrance brand, is setting sail this year in Europe and the U.S. PAGE 8 Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Noir, out in May, is the fifth installment in the men’s fragrance line inspired by the sports brand’s iconic polo shirt. PAGE 8 Chanel packed a capacity crowd into The Odeon in New York Wednesday for its annual dinner in honor of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Program. PAGE 9 The after party for the new one-woman show about Sue Mengers, “I’ll Eat You Last,” on Wednesday in Manhattan was a star-studded affair. PAGE 9 London was clearly calling Millard “Mickey” Drexler, who was spotted multiple times around that city this week. PAGE 11

A look from the Yohji Yamamato show in Berlin. For more, see WWD.com.

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By ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

NEW YORK — Shares of Revlon Inc. fell 6.7 percent to $19.16 Thursday after the beauty company swung to a first-quarter loss, due in part to hefty refinancing charges.

For the period ended March 31, the firm reported a loss of $6.9 million, or 13 cents a diluted share, compared with a year-ago profit of $8.5 million, or 16 cents a share. The company attributed the bulk of the quarterly loss to a $16.9 million after-tax charge related to the 2013 refinancing of its senior notes and the amend-ment of its bank term loan.

First-quarter sales edged up 0.4 percent to $331.9 million from sales of $330.7 million in the year-ago period.

Wall Street anticipated earn-ings per share of 26 cents on sales of $351 million.

In the U.S., which makes up roughly half the company’s busi-ness, sales rose 4 percent to $192.1 million, driven by higher demand

for Revlon and SinfulColors color cosmetics and Pure Ice.

Sales in the Asia-Pacific region declined 4.5 percent to $53.6 mil-lion, due in part to the impact of unfavorable currency fluctuations and lagging demand for Revlon color cosmetics in China. Currency volatility also affected sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa re-gion, which logged an 11.1 percent decline, or sales of $40.7 million.

Higher sales of Revlon color cosmetics boosted the firm’s Latin American and Canadian businesses to $45.5 million, rep-resenting a 3.2 percent increase.

“The consumer is out there still buying product,” president and chief executive officer Alan Ennis told WWD. “The opportu-nity for us is to continue to bring innovation to the marketplace.”

According to the ceo, products such as nail art and lip products will continue to drive business in the U.S. At the same time, some of the trends from the Asia mar-ket, such as beauty balms and color control creams, are catch-ing on in America as well.

“What we’ve seen over the past couple of years is the trends in Asia are hitting the West market,” noted executive vice president and chief operating officer Chris Elshaw, who added that Western trends are becoming increasingly popular in Asia, as well.

“The lines are eroding,”

Elshaw said.Next up for Revlon, which just

entered the Russian market at the end of last year, will be the introduction of a line of liquid color lip balms, CC creams and eye makeup remover.

Revlon, which improved its capital structure by refinancing its senior notes, amending its bank term loan, reducing interest rates and extending maturities on its debt over the first quarter, has its sights set on more acquisi-tions in the future.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities,” the ceo offered.

In a separate filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, Revlon disclosed Ennis’ compensation. In 2012, the ceo’s total compen-sation rose 5.2 percent to $3.23 million from $3.1 million in 2011. His salary increased 1.2 percent to $921,235, as his nonequity in-centive plan compensation ex-panded 7.7 percent to $2.2 mil-lion. Ennis’ other compensation, which included car allowance, 401(k) contributions and life in-surance premiums, remained relatively flat at $65,989.

Because of vesting schedules and fluctuating stock values, stock and option awards aren’t necessar-ily realized by the named execu-tives but, in accordance with SEC requirements, are reported to the SEC at “grant date fair value.”

Kering Feels Luxury’s Slowdown

Revlon Records Q1 Loss Amid Hefty Charges

By MILES SOCHA

PARIS — Weakening demand in China and a sluggish Europe con-tinue to rain on luxury’s parade, with France’s Kering the latest big player to report single-digit gains in the first quarter.

Kering, the parent of Gucci and Bottega Veneta that was previously known as PPR, on Thursday reported sales in its luxury division climbed 4.5 per-cent in the three months ended March 31 — a steep deceleration from the 21.2 percent gain regis-tered in the fourth quarter.

Luxury revenues in the first quarter totaled 1.52 billion euros, or $2.01 billion, compared to 1.46 billion euros, or $1.91 billion, in the year-ago quarter. Stripping out the impact of acquisitions and currency fluctuations, the in-crease stood at 6.4 percent.

During a conference call, chief financial officer Jean-Marc Duplaix said Greater China is far less buoyant than in recent years, dragged down by Taiwan and Korea, adding that he did not de-tect any signs of a pickup in the re-gion. Mainland China registered a 10 percent increase in luxury sales in the quarter, he noted.

Duplaix trumpeted that Gucci continues to sell more upscale leather goods in Asia, with non-logo bags now accounting for more than 30 percent of sales in Korea, versus 9 percent two years ago, for example.

He also said Gucci would slow down the pace of openings in China to “safeguard the exclusiv-ity of the brand.”

In Europe, market conditions de-teriorated in the second half of the first quarter, dampening consump-tion of fashions and accessories.

By contrast, the U.S. “remains quite sound and we don’t see

why it should change,” Duplaix said. There is one exception: Sales in Hawaii are less robust as Japanese tourists spend more at home, driven to do so by a weak-ening of the yen, he noted.

In Kering’s luxury division, sales improved 3 percent in Western Europe, 6 percent in Asia-Pacific, 8 percent in North America, 10 percent in Japan and 15 percent in other countries.

Revenues at flagship brand Gucci climbed 2.1 percent in the three months ended March 31. Only Yves Saint Laurent, now under the creative direction of Hedi Slimane, posted a double-digit gain, with

revenues up 16.9 percent.Duplaix said the initial results

of Slimane’s new design direction “confirm its strong momentum” despite late deliveries of spring merchandise, particularly in its directly operated stores.

The company highlighted “significant growth” of men’s ready-to-wear at Saint Laurent along with “higher sales of iconic handbags and a promising start for new shoe styles.”

As a whole, sales of fashion and leather goods gained 7 per-cent in the quarter.

Duplaix described a contrast-

ing picture for “other brands,” with gains in excess of 20 percent at Boucheron, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen offset-ting weakness at Sergio Rossi and the Swiss watch brands Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard.

Sales for the group, whose hold-ings range from Brioni to Puma, advanced 1 percent in the quarter to 2.37 billion, or $3.12 billion, from 2.34 billion, or $3.07 billion.

Dollar figures are converted from euros at average exchange rates for the periods to which they refer.

François-Henri Pinault, Kering chairman and chief executive of-ficer, cited a high basis for com-parison for luxury, up 18 percent in the same period last year, and blamed a “jumpier environment, notably in Europe,” for a 4.9 per-cent decline in its nascent sport and lifestyle division.

Managing director Jean-François Palus noted that Europe accounts for about one third of revenues in the sport and lifestyle division, and said that the ap-pointment last week of Pandora’s Björn Gulden, once a professional soccer player, “marks the start of a new offensive for the brand.”

Kering’s results dovetail with slowing revenues at other luxury players, which face strong cur-rency headwinds, withering de-mand in Asia and a lackluster European economy.

As reported, first-quarter sales at Hermès International rose 12.8 percent, the firm’s slowest pace since 2008, while LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said rev-enues rose 5.5 percent in the first three months of the year as the Asian juggernaut lost steam.

Burberry said revenues in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 climbed 11 percent, while Compagnie Financière Richemont in January said fiscal third-quarter sales rose 9.3 percent.

François-Henri Pinault

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SALES AT REVLON.

EYE: This season’s Gallery Weekend in Berlin got an exceptionally high fashion kickoff Thursday night with “Cutting Age,” a runway show of iconic pieces spanning much of Yohji Yamamoto's career. For more, see WWD.com.

WWD.COM

By Lisa Lockwood

NEw YoRk — “we’ve made lots of prog-ress. The drugs are still not perfect. There are more advances needed to be made in research,” said Mathilde krim, cofounder of amfaR, speaking on a panel following the screening of the documen-tary “The Battle of amfaR” at the Tribeca Film Festival wednesday night. (For more on the festival, see pages 9 to 11.)

The film, released by HBo documentary Films, will air on the cable network in december coinciding with world aids day. it was produced and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the creative team behind “The celluloid closet ” and “Lovelace,” and executive produced by kenneth cole.

The film tells the story of how krim, a research scientist, and Elizabeth Taylor launched the country’s first aids re-search foundation and changed the way people think about HiV/aids. To date, two people are believed to have been cured of HiV/aids, and things are pro-gressing quickly in terms of finding a cure. “That is our goal, to have a cure that works for everybody all the time,” said cole, chairman of amfaR.

cole, who moderated the panel with kevin Robert Frost, chief executive of-ficer of amfaR; Regan Hofmann, a jour-nalist and global health consultant, and krim, said that historically the stigma was as devastating as the virus itself.

“it’s as deadly as the virus,” said Hofmann, who is HiV positive. “we have a chance to reposition this disease. it’s at a tipping point, but it’s very much still an issue.”

Frost added, “we’re going to cure this disease. we’re going to do it in our life-time. it’s just a matter of when.”

Following the film and panel discus-sion, guests moved to colicchio & sons for a cocktail party to celebrate the documentary.

Uma Thurman said she attended be-cause she’s a personal friend of the di-rectors. “i’m looking forward to working with them. i’m big admirer of their work.” she said this wasn’t her first amfaR event and her friend, the late Natasha Richardson, was a board member, and Thurman had joined her in her efforts. she said people have become compla-cent and it’s important to realize “that this work is not done and how active the disease is in our community today.”

cole said it took a year and a half to make the film. They began working on the project after Taylor’s death and they wanted to do the movie while krim, 86, “was still strong and willing.

“i asked to tell her story, and she said, ‘i prefer you tell amfaR’s story,’” said

cole. He believes the timing is right to come out with a documentary such as this. “There’s no better time than now. aids films create this false sense of hope. it’s as big a threat as it ever was,” he said. aids research has made such significant break-throughs and progress the last few years. “we’ve literally learned how to keep ev-erybody safe, which is huge,” he said.

anna chlumsky, star of the HBo show “Veep,” said she was glad she saw the movie and appreciated how impor-tant the foundation was to the cause. “i didn’t know the history of it, and i knew i’d learn something. i really support any program that educates about the cause,” she said.

Hofmann said she does a lot of speaking about HiV/aids in schools and there’s a real need to awaken america’s youth. “This is a real risk. The President has been a strong sup-

porter of HiV [programs]. You need to have the budget match the commitment. we can end aids. we need the political will and financial capital to get it over the end line. we’re closer than people realize,” she said.

Friedman said he chose to make the film now because people don’t know the history. “People think aids is a prob-lem that’s been solved and it hasn’t. Young people don’t understand what aids means. it’s good for classrooms. we’re really close to a cure.”

although woody allen didn’t attend wednesday night’s festivities (he was listed on the invitation), he did make a cameo appearance in the film, show-ing up at a dinner party at krim’s apart-ment. asked what allen was doing in the film, Friedman replied, “Mathilde [krim] called him and he said he’d do anything for her. He adores Mathilde.”

3WWD friday, april 26, 2013

Cole’s amfAR Doc Hits Tribeca Film Festival

Jeffrey Friedman, Uma Thurman, Regan Hofmann

and Rob Epstein.

Mathilde Krim and Kenneth Cole

Anna Chlumsky

Finazzo Guilty on All 16 CountsBy Vicki M. YoUNg

NEw YoRk — guilty, guilty and guilty again: 16 times in total.

Jurors in the christopher Finazzo criminal trial took less than four-and-a-half hours to reach a verdict of guilty on all 16 counts.

Finazzo, the former chief merchandising of-ficer at aéropostale inc., was charged with 14 counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. all the counts, as noted in his indictment, are in connection with an alleged multimillion dollar kickback scheme that involved one of the retailer’s key vendors, south Bay apparel.

Finazzo never took the stand, which is his right. He is presumed innocent of all charges, and it was up to U.s. government prosecutors to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The maximum term of imprisonment for each count of mail and wire fraud is 20 years, and five years for the conspiracy charge. U.s. district court Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf will determine what the penalties will be. Finazzo’s forfeiture trial starts on Monday and is expected to last a week. The government is seeking more than $21 million, two investment accounts and four pieces of property from Finazzo. Bail was continued.

Mauskopf gave her final instructions Thursday morning before sending the case to the 12-mem-ber jury panel to begin deliberations shortly be-fore noon. word filtered through the courthouse shortly after 4 p.m. that a verdict had already been reached on each count of the indictment.

U.s. attorney Loretta E. Lynch said, “we have all heard the saying, ‘Money does not buy happi-ness,’ and today’s verdict is case in point for that maxim. christopher Finazzo had a great job that paid him millions of dollars, but this honest living was apparently not enough to satisfy his greed. as the evidence at trial showed, he schemed to steal from aéropostale and to receive more than $25 million in illegal kickbacks from a supplier.”

she also said, as the Finazzo verdict shows, “we will vigorously pursue corporate fraudsters

who double deal to enrich themselves and bring them to justice.”

The three-week criminal trial began april 8. Prosecutors took two weeks to present their case, which included cross-examination of their witness-es by defense counsel. The defense needed just a day-and-a half to present its case.

The key components in the government’s case are that Finazzo deprived the retailer of money that could have gone elsewhere and that he inter-fered with aéropostale’s ability to decide how to control their own assets, such as whether to place orders with south Bay or somewhere else.

Edward slezak, the general counsel of aéropostale inc., was in court wednesday morn-ing, and lawyers almost fought over his right to attend closing arguments. He is the only mem-ber of the executive team who was also pres-ent at the exit interview in which Finazzo was fired. That interview was taped. The recording, which included Finazzo’s statements, was played for jurors. Both Julian geiger, chief executive officer at the time, and Michael cunningham, chief financial officer and president, have since retired from the teen retailer. Like geiger and cunningham, slezak also was a government wit-ness in the case. Lawyers for Finazzo objected to his presence, even though both sides had already rested. Before government prosecutors could state why he should be able to stay in the court-room, slezak made the decision easy, stating, “i’ll leave. i don’t want to be the subject of this.”

Finazzo and his friend and now coconspirator, douglas dey, were both indicted in June 2010. dey owned south Bay, and 50 percent of the profits south Bay received from orders from aéropostale were split between dey and a company called c & d Retail consultants inc., a firm Finazzo set up. according to the government, the retailer paid more than $350 million for orders with south Bay, while Finazzo received $25 million for his share of the profits.

dey in september pled guilty to a conspiracy charge, which carries a penalty of five years im-prisonment and the forfeiture of $7.5 million. He too awaits sentencing.

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Soros Takes Penney’s Stakeis said to have burnt through $1 billion in the first quarter and has engaged a number of con-sultants to help it raise funds beyond the $850 million recent-ly drawn from its credit facility.

Penney’s stock fell by 50 percent during Johnson’s ten-ure and is having to regroup just as retail shares roar to new highs — a dichotomy that sets up the company as a potential-ly attractive investment, if it can reconnect with consumers.

on Thursday, the s&P 500 Retailing industry group gained 1.4 percent, or 10.20 points, to 755.55, setting a new record of 758.73 in mid-day trading. Retail was bull-ish versus the broader mar-ket. The dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.2 percent, or 24.50 points, to 14,700.80. Low interest rates have helped push the stock market to new heights even as the re-covery has remained shaky.

soros is Penney’s fifth-largest institutional inves-tor. activist investor william ackman’s Pershing square capital is the company’s larg-est investor, with a 17.8 percent stake. ackman, who agitated for change at the retailer and helped bring in Johnson, has said he’s sticking by his invest-ment. Rounding out the top five Penney’s investors are id Management, dodge & cox and state street corp.

soros Fund Management has investments in 212 compa-nies, with a total market value

of $5.67 billion. That includes 1.3 million shares of wal-Mart stores inc., worth $98.3 million, and 1.1 million shares of Macy’s inc., valued at $48.4 million.

soros has dabbled else-where in fashion, for instance, repeatedly pumping money into e-commerce company Bluefly inc. and last year, his crystal Financial fund extend-

ed american apparel inc. $80 million in financing, allowing the racy U.s. producer to retire other debt.

The investor’s reach is long on wall street and several re-tail analysts declined to com-ment on the investment, citing soros as a client. a spokesman for soros also declined to com-ment, as did a spokeswoman for Penney’s.

{Continued from page one}

George Soros

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WWD.COMWWD FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 20134

Shining MomentSUBTLE SILVER EMBROIDERIES ADD AN EXTRA DOSE OF PRINCESS TO SPRING’S WEDDING DRESSES.

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WWD.COM6 WWD friday, april 26, 20136

beautyBy Jennifer Weil

PAriS — The prominent peepers in Alber elbaz’s charming fashion illustra-tions foreshadowed his first eye-opening venture into makeup.

lancôme has teamed with the fashion designer to conceive the limited-edition collection, called Hypnôse Show, which includes mascaras, eye palettes and false eyelashes. it is due to hit counters world-wide on June 15.

“eyes are the center of lancôme,” Youcef nabi, president of lancôme international, told WWD. (in the U.S. last year, for instance, the l’Oréal-owned brand ranked first among prestige mas-caras and its Hypnôse line was the cat-egory’s top franchise, according to The nPD Group.)

elbaz’s affection for lancôme is long-standing.

“After school, i moved to new York, and every time i would go back home i would stop at lancôme and buy my mom a gift,” he explained. “i have this kind of nostalgia and these kinds of memories about the brand.”

elbaz and nabi met four years ago and recently decided to do the joint proj-ect centering on peepers. At first, elbaz questioned what he could bring to the world of cosmetics, but then he had a flashback to a holiday.

“Once i was in a fancy place where there was this group of people that were all shining. The shoes were shining, the hair was shining, the skin, watches and diamonds — but the eyes were not shin-ing,” he explained, sitting in a suite of Paris’ le Bristol hotel. “i thought if i were to do a project i would love to do a ‘happy eye’ project to make the eyes shine.”

elbaz said the idea was to rework “in a different way, with a different perspec-tive” lancôme’s best-selling mascaras. So the designer began by conceiving the approximately 90-second video advertis-ing campaign featuring his hand-drawn characters, which goes online June 3.

elbaz said its story line was meant to feel like a fairy tale — “to go back to a fantasy, to go back to a dream, to a happy ending. i think we always remember sto-ries more than objects.

“The whole story was about going back to authentic and going back…into

a project that is less global and a little bit more person-al and emotional,” he con-tinued. “it was less generic. it was less glossy.”

elbaz dressed lancôme’s eye product packaging, in-cluding the Color Design 5 Shadow & liner Palette.

“Here it was taking some of their best DnA and [ask-ing] what is it that you can do with it,” he said, adding they opted to maintain the lancôme logo and iconic rose.

for elbaz, it was evi-dent what he would do for each product.

“it was all very easy somehow. When i saw Hypnôse Star, i thought, ‘i’ll do stars. But i’ll do it my way,’” he said. “When i saw [Hypnôse Doll lashes] i thought, ‘Hearts will be right.’ And when i saw [Hypnôse Drama], i thought, ‘Dots — crazy dots, jumpy dots — will create drama.’”

elbaz and lancôme executives together picked the colors of the makeup products.

“We wanted to choose colors that we know sell,” said nabi, adding there are some hues new to the market as well. The Star mascara’s formulation, for ex-ample, is chockablock with black-blue pigments billed to make the whites of people’s eyes seem whiter.

According to elbaz, best known as the designer of lanvin, the process of creat-ing the makeup collection didn’t differ much from that of crafting a fashion line.

“i think that making a cake or a per-fume or a dress or jewelry — in a way it’s the same process,” he said. “You might speak french or english or German or Chinese, but in the end we speak with the eyes. it’s an international language.”

The collection will be sold through lancôme’s traditional distribution chan-nels. in the U.S., the makeup is to be available at the brand’s counters and through lancome.com, while the false lashes will be exclusive to nordstrom.

Also in the U.S., the limited-edition Hypnôse mascaras — including Doll, Drama, Définicils and Star — are to be

priced at $29. each of the four corre-sponding eye palettes will be $51, and the false lashes, $35.

lancôme executives would not dis-cuss projections, but industry sources estimate the Hypnôse Show line will generate in excess of $15 million in retail

sales globally. That’s higher than what lancôme’s prior limited-edition collec-tions usually have made, according to the industry sources.

The brand has long had a fashion focus. in november 2010, lancôme introduced a holiday makeup collection with l’Wren Scott. More recently, it joined forces with Olympia le-Tan for a one-shot minaudière containing some of her favorite shades of lipstick and nail polish. And a limited-edi-tion color cosmetics offering with Jason Wu will be on counter in September.

Elbaz Fashions Art of the Eye

’’’’

We speak with the eyes. It’s an international

language.— Alber elbAz

The primary and secondary packaging.

Alber Elbaz backstage at his fall 2013 ready-to-wear show.

By MOllY PriOr

lAST fAll, while Kelly Osbourne was busy defending the $250,000 black-diamond manicure she wore to the emmy Awards, Azature Pogosian saw the makings of a new business venture.

The los Angeles fine jew-elry designer and creator of the $250,000 nail polish rushed to release a more af-fordable collection with formulas infused with glit-ter and a small pavé black diamond, dropped by hand into each bottle. His vi-sion is to have the talons of the masses dripping in diamonds. Meanwhile, the one lone bottle of the $250,000 nail lacquer — which contains 267 car-ats of full-cut and faceted black diamonds — is on view at Selfridges. “[it] has not sold yet,” said Pogosian.

The initial $25 Azature Black Diamond Collection includes colors in-

spired by different types of diamonds, including black, red, pink, champagne, blue, green and canary. The latest color collection is set to launch in the next several weeks, and includes an assortment of softer, pastel shades in-

cluding white, lilac and gray, among others. Pogosian em-phasized the colors are not seasonal, but intended to flesh out the permanent collection. The polishes are currently sold at Selfridges, Harvey

nichols Saudi Arabia, ron robinson, ron Herman Japan and Kitson.

Pogosian has a par-ticular fondness for black diamonds, even using the term as a nickname for his mother and grandmother, and said they convey wom-

en’s empowerment. Pogosian said the

brightly colored collection is a marked change from

the bespoke jewelry pieces he crafts using principally black and white dia-monds. His jewelry has been worn by rihanna, fergie and Beyoncé.

PAriS — Designer Olivia Putman has left her mark on the newest l’Air du Temps limited-edition bottle, which is due out worldwide in early May.

“it’s been my perfume for 30 years,” she said of the nina ricci scent that was launched post-World War ii, in 1948. “i really wanted to bring some-thing precious to it and something light at the same time.”

The original l’Air du Temps bottle, created by robert ricci and Marc lalique, had doves en-graved in its stopper and contained the eau de parfum juice by perfumer francis fabron. Three years later, ricci and lalique introduced anoth-er flacon for the scent with a pair of doves kissing, which remains its iconic bottle.

The design of l’Air du Temps’ flacon for the eau de toilette, meanwhile, underwent numerous it-erations. What linked them all was that each featured the kissing birds. Most recently,

in 2010, Philippe Starck reworked the bottle.

for her part, Putman colored the doves on the stopper blue and gave the flacon’s ridges the same hue. She said the blue came to her since it gave an airy feeling.

“for me it really evokes liberty,” said Putman. “i wanted discretely to underline the work of Marc lalique.”

The 100-ml. limited-edition bottle will retail in france for 85 euros, or

$110.65 at current exchange.About 30,000 flacons are to be

available in all, said Caius Von Knorring, marketing director at

nina ricci, which is owned by Puig.He explained artistic collabo-

rations on l’Air du Temps — with the likes of Andy Warhol and Jean Cocteau — have been part of its tradition.

“The aim for us is to give the most freedom possible to

artists with whom we collabo-rate, so they can interpret l’Air

du Temps in their own fashion,” said Von Knorring. — J.W.

Azature’s Diamond Shade L’Air du Temps Takes Flight Again

The newest limited-edition

bottle.

Two colors from the Azature Black Diamond Collection.

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AVA I L A B L E N O WON SELECT NEWSSTANDS AND ON STYLE.COM/PRINT

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MATT RICE, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, STYLE.COM AT 212.630.2421 OR MATT_RICE@FAIRCHILDFASHION.COM

WWD.COM8 WWD friday, april 26, 20138

beautyBy Cynthia Martens

MiLan — France and italy may be the undisputed titans of the luxury fragrance industry, but Julian Bedel is out to prove that south america can com-pete in the already saturated upscale market.

in 2010, the argentinian and his business partner, amalia amoedo, founded Fueguia 1833, a vertically structured body and home fragrance brand that is setting sail this year in europe and the U.s.

“We started with a lot of research about the botani-cal aspect of plants in south america,” Bedel explained. he noted that while the company invests heavily in identifying quality naturals, the most im-portant step is to find a way to source them. “you need to talk to communities — to explain to them that they are surrounded by a potential interesting ingre-dient, and how to [harvest] it. Most of the time, this ingredi-ent [may be] wild-grown, but it can be domesticated.” For that, Bedel refers to the nonprofit

helpargentina Foundation, which he set up in 2002 with Lloyd nimetz. the founda-tion builds relationships with and provides funding for a net-work of smaller organizations throughout the country.

each of the 55 Fueguia 1833 body fragrances comes wrapped in a copy of a vintage map of Patagonia and nestled in a handmade box made of reclaimed Patagonian wood. Bedel’s interest in the natural world and artisan crafts has several family precedents: his ancestors include the globe-trotting French entomologist Louis Bedel and travel writers Maurice Bedel and Filiberto Oliveira de Cézar, while his fa-ther and brother are artists.

“i’m also a musician and a painter, and i build guitars,” said Bedel. “it was very natu-ral. it was a very empirical ap-proach to say, ‘OK, i am going to build a fragrance.’ For me, playing with ingredients, i know where to start.”

Bedel carefully formulated the brand’s identity, hoping that even without a major advertising budget he could reel in custom-

ers through high-quality products with an enticing narrative: the name, Fueguia 1833, is a tribute to the 19th-century encounter between Charles Darwin, robert Fitzroy and the young Fueguia Basket, a girl from tierra del Fuego who was captured and shipped off to england with two other native Fuegians.

“south america is an amaz-ing, diverse continent, botani-cally speaking and geographi-cally speaking, and it’s also a continent that during the 19th century was full of botanists and explorers that untapped the diversity of our region,” Bedel said. “there are many el-ements of the culture of south america — writers, landscapes, characters, animals, specific plants, music — so my idea was to reproduce this in scents, or to use it as a backbone or an argu-ment for fragrance.”

at the two Fueguia 1833 shops in Buenos aires, custom-ers can refer to a guide of fra-grances: the perfumes, labeled by hand, are divided into dif-ferent collections with names like Jorge Luis Borges and Fàbula Fauna, and each is pre-

sented with a brief description. instead of the pyramid struc-ture commonly used to build scents, Bedel said he used “or-bits,” so that each perfume has one dominant and two key sup-porting ingredients.

With prices at about 115 euros, or $149.55 at current exchange, for a 30-ml. bottle and 185 euros, or $240.57, for 100-ml., Fueguia 1833 fragrances hit shelves april 10 at rome’s Campomarzio70 store, which currently has an italian exclusive. the brand will be available at aedes de Venustas in new york starting May 6; in Los angeles at Lucy scents on May 11; in Milan at 10 Corso Como in June, and in Paris at both L’eclaireur and Jovoy in June and september, respective-ly. Other openings are slated in

Barcelona, London and various cities in Germany, so that by the end of 2013, Bedel estimates 25 stores in europe and the U.s. will carry Fueguia 1833. “the idea is to keep it exclusive because of limited production,” he said.

Bedel declined comment on sales projections, but industry sources estimated that the line could generate first-year whole-sale sales of about $3.5 million.

Ultimately, Bedel hopes to open direct points of sale around the world: the brand is now negotiating its first stand-alone european bou-tique in London.

“i believe that [Fueguia 1833] is a good homage to my family, to the philosophy of my family and to the philosophy of adven-turers,” he said.

By Faye BrOOKMan

e.L.F. COsMetiCs quietly opened its first retail flagship in new york’s Greenwich Village last week. a grand opening of the 1,200-square-foot space is planned for May 22.

it didn’t take fanfare to lure con-sumers to the unit. a highly trafficked neighborhood coupled with word of mouth on e.l.f.’s social media ve-hicles contributed to opening volume that has been above expectations, ac-cording to Joey shamah, e.l.f.’s chief executive officer.

e.l.f.’s portfolio is now sold on-line, in retail partner stores and the branded store, which is believed to be the first mass value retail door in the industry. L’Oréal operates stores but prefers to use them as experimental laboratories for concepts to roll out to chains.

industry sources estimate the boutique will achieve first-year sales exceeding $2 mil-lion. two more stores are planned prior to the end of the year, said shamah who added new Jersey is on e.l.f.’s expansion bucket list. e.l.f.’s total revenues are estimated to topple the $150 million mark.

e.l.f. is borrowing a page from prestige com-panies such as MaC Cosmetics, Bare escentuals, aveda and Origins, which sell products in verti-cally integrated stores. shamah isn’t concerned retail partners will feel e.l.f. stores compete with their offer but thinks that they will actually benefit from what e.l.f. learns in its own environ-ment. e.l.f. is rapidly expanding in major chains such as Walgreens, Wal-Mart and target.

in particular, e.l.f. hopes to continue its strat-egy of trading consumers up to its studio collec-tion, priced between $3 to $6, which accounts for most of the merchandise in the store. e.l.f.’s portfolio also includes essentials, the entry line at $1 to $2, and Minerals, priced from $3 to $8. the flagship offers about 550 stockkeeping units out of e.l.f.’s total lineup of 1,000 items.

“We can bring our online experience to a store where women can touch and interact with the products,” said shamah. “it also differenti-ates us from the other companies in mass.”

the store sports gleaming white fixtures al-

lowing the merchandise to pop off the shelf. there are testers for all products, which shamah said are cleaned frequently and changed out to keep them fresh.

ten large television screens reinforce e.l.f.’s online messages with makeup artist how-tos and editorial coverage. Free makeup lessons by professional makeup artists as well as compli-mentary makeovers are offered in the store. “We are getting great response and many people are booking appointments,” said Marianne Moreno, corporate retail liaison at the store.

shoppers can sign up for appointments on-line and place orders for in-store pickup as well. Currently, the store is open 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on sunday.

Many of those entering the store appeared to know the e.l.f. brand, but there were also tour-ists and new york University students ventur-ing in to check it out. some compared the value pricing to purchases recently made at a nearby MaC Cosmetics store.

With customers flocking to the store, e.l.f. has made some early tweaks such as planning bigger shopping baskets. “yes that’s needed,” said one customer with her hands full of pur-chases at the checkout.”

By JenniFer WeiL

Paris — the eau de Lacoste L.12.12 franchise is getting dressed up for evening — wear-ing black, of course.

noir, making its debut in May, is the fifth installment in the men’s line inspired by the sports brand’s iconic polo shirt that was launched in early 2011 with a trio of scents. a fourth, rouge, came out in 2012.

“[noir] still remains in the fresh olfactive territory, but it’s a bit more intense,” said Carla Liuni, vice president of fash-ion brands for P&G Prestige, Lacoste’s fragrance licensee. she explained the woody aro-matic juice, which was cre-ated by P&G with international Flavors & Fragrances, con-trasts watermelon and dark chocolate notes. it also in-cludes notes of egyptian basil, lavender, verbena, cashmeran, coumarin and patchouli.

as with the other fragrances in the L.12.12 line (whose name integrates the first Lacoste polo shirt’s moniker), noir’s bottle has a textile crocodile logo and is partially textured to evoke the polo shirt’s cotton weave.

its single- and double-page print campaign was photo-graphed by Kay Mücke. Bo Platt directed a video adver-tisement, which comes in 20-, 15- and 10-second versions and will be shown on tV, movie screens and the internet. the spot features an origamist’s hands manipulating a white Lacoste polo shirt into a cres-cent moon shape and then transforming a black polo shirt into the noir bottle.

“We continue to build on the strength of the [original L.12.12]

campaign,” said Liuni. For digi-tal, there are to be some custom-ized local activities, such as Qr code-initiated videos, as well.

noir will be launched in May in the U.s., the U.K., the Middle east and parts of europe. in July it’s to come out in France, spain, Benelux, Germany and the asia-Pacific region. then russia and Latin america will get the scent in august.

Globally, noir is to be in more than 25,000 doors, like the rest of the L.12.12 line.

in europe the 30-ml. eau de toilette spray will retail for 40 euros, or $52 at current ex-change, while the 100-ml. version will go for 67 euros, or $87.15.

although P&G executives would not discuss numbers, in-dustry sources estimate noir will generate $50 million in first-year retail sales.

the L.12.12 franchise has been growing by double digits since its launch and currently ranks among the top 10 men’s prestige scent lines globally, ac-cording to industry sources.

Fueguia Headed to U.S.

Lacoste Back With BlackE.l.f. Cosmetics Opens First Flagship

Fueguia items.

Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Noir

An E.l.f. display.

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WWDSTYLEEPIC PROPORTIONS: Director Deepa Mehta brings “Midnight’s Children” to the big screen. PAGE 10

MEMO PAD

Smalls World

NEW YORK — Joan Smalls (and her romper) stopped traffi c Wednesday at the door of

The Odeon, where Chanel packed a capacity crowd into tight quarters for its annual

dinner in honor of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Program. For more, see page 10.

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REMEMBER WHEN: On Wednesday night at the Russian Tea Room in Manhattan, a pall of nostalgia hung in the air, more so than usual. The after party for the new one-woman show “I’ll Eat You Last” was taking place. The play is a portrait of the late superagent Sue Mengers, played by Bette Midler, and friends, colleagues and even those who met Mengers long after her heyday came by to pay their respects, get a taste of old Hollywood pizzazz and maybe reminisce about when they were “hot.”

David Geffen shared a booth with Fran Lebowitz. Glenn Close, squeezed between David Furnish and a smartly attired, Mohawked young man, name unknown, was beside Christine Baranski and an entranced Gay Talese. Midler, mobbed when she arrived, had a post-performance meal behind an enormous bodyguard who rivaled in size her tablemate, Academy Awards joke writer Bruce Vilanch.

The red carpet for the show at the Booth Theater looked like the class reunion of 1975. Barry Diller gave a mogul’s embrace to Ron Meyer, the chief operating offi cer of Universal Studios. He didn’t walk in until his wife Diane von Furstenberg, whom he met through Mengers, arrived. Marlo Thomas, a friend of Mengers, walked the red carpet, as did Angelica Huston.

Some of the people at the Tea Room seemed like they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“So nice to say hello to you. I’m Ali MacGraw,” the star said to Carolina Herrera as she walked in. MacGraw had been one of Mengers’ signature clients, friends for 40 years. She and agent Boaty Boatwright and Joanna Poitier, Sidney’s wife, were beside Mengers when she died.

“We took her ashes to Paris,” MacGraw said. She pulled up into one of the Tea Room’s plush red booths, the table in front of her still covered with dirty dishes, for an interview. Bucking convention, MacGraw is a paragon of humility and has aged naturally. For the well-wishers who kept stopping by, she might as well have shot “Love Story” yesterday. She was impressed with Midler’s performance.

“I knew her really, really well, and Bette nailed it,” she said. Mengers would have lapped up the whole production. “She has a brilliant actress. One of the most brilliant young writers. And one of Broadway’s most superb directors. And Graydon Carter put it all together,” she said. Carter, Vanity Fair editor in chief, is one of the play’s producers.

“I think about Sue all the time, so I can’t say that it brought back memories,” MacGraw continued. She doesn’t romanticize the old days. The pictures never got small for her. She ditched them a long time ago, or maybe it was the other way around.

“I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico,” MacGraw said. “I don’t do Hollywood.” — ERIK MAZA

WWD.COMWWD FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 201310

Film Studies

CHANEL’S ANNUAL DINNER in honor of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Program can feel like a lesson in particle physics. The combined draw of a coveted fashion house and New York film and art insiders packs about 200 into The Odeon in Tribeca, tight quarters to begin with. The lack of much personal space can make for some easy observational work, as was the case at the party’s eighth annual go-round on Wednesday night. There was David Neville of Rag & Bone hearing from a man he had just met who owned “two pairs of your jeans,” or there was Michael Pitt sneaking a cigarette in the downstairs bathrooms, or there was Sophie Auster trading great moments in cocktail history with Salman Rushdie.

“Apparently the Odeon invented the Cosmopolitan,” Auster said.

“Is that right?” Rushdie said. “I didn’t know that. I knew that the St. Regis invented the Bloody Mary.”

Others in attendance included festival cofounder Robert De Niro with wife Grace Hightower, Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour, Griffin Dunne, Taraji P. Henson, Uma Thurman and, of course, a strong showing of starlets, models and socials in Chanel such as Kiernan Shipka, Dree Hemingway, Riley Keough, Joan

Smalls, Mickey Sumner, Sofia Sanchez Barrenechea, Atlanta de Cadenet and Alexa Chung.

Julie Delpy was at the festival for the premiere of “Before Midnight,” the third installment of director Richard Linklater’s decades-spanning romantic narrative she’s costarred in with Ethan Hawke.

“So very few actors or even writers are allowed to do that,” she said of the film’s time span before bumping into fellow actress Radha Mitchell.

“How’s it going?” Mitchell asked.

“Good. I was doing an interview,” Delpy explained.

“Finish the f--king interview!” Mitchell demanded. “What was the question?”

Thus instructed, WWD asked again about carrying a character over three films for 15 years.

“I love that character,” Mitchell interrupted. “I didn’t get to see it, but it’s like the movie I want to see at this festival....It’s screening at the festival, right? I need to know what happens next.”

“You’re going to find out,” Delpy said. “A lot of action happens in that film.”

“Aliens,” Mitchell laughed. “Full on.”

— MATTHEW LYNCH

EPIC IN SCALE and spanning 60 years of Indian history, Salman Rushdie’s Booker Prize-winning novel, “Midnight’s Children,” was once called unfilmable by literary critics. Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta has never bought into that theory.

“Even with all its characters and grand themes, I could see this story as a film in my head. I never felt it was impossible to make into a movie, but it was a challenge — by far the biggest challenge of my career,” Mehta told WWD at the Toronto International Film Festival. In theatres today, Mehta’s sprawling yet faithful adaptation of Rushdie’s 1981 saga tells the tale of two boys, one rich, one poor, born at the exact moment in 1947 when India gained its independence from the British Empire. In a twist worthy of Shakespeare, the infants are switched at birth by a maternity nurse — an action that results in many tragic ironies, particularly in the life of protagonist Saleem Sinai (played by Satya Bhabha). Yet both babies, along with other children born at this precise moment in India’s history, arrive on earth possessing telepathic powers. Hero Saleem later uses these gifts as he matures to unite India’s chosen children and help them discover the true meaning behind their powers.

“When I first read Salman’s book in 1982, I remember feeling this sense of complete wonderment,” said Mehta, 63.

“Fantastical though they were, I knew these characters he had created. They were just like aunts, uncles and other people I knew

back in India. That’s why I wasn’t scared off by the book’s scale or surreal magic,” Mehta explained.

Instead, the Indian-born filmmaker focused on Rushdie’s message about family and the idea that the families we choose can be stronger than those we are born into.

“Family and hope are everything in this story. That’s what makes this exotic tale relevant in today’s world,” said Mehta.

To date Mehta is best known for her Elements trilogy: “Earth” (1996), “Fire” (1998) and 2005’s Oscar-nominated drama “Water,” which told the story of an eight-year-old child widow in India forced to enter a house of widows for the rest of her life. As in those films, “Midnight’s Children” overflows with the painterly details and lush cinematography that have become the hallmarks of Mehta’s career. “Midnight’s Children” also features a screenplay and narration by Rushdie, who signed on in 2008 to adapt what is widely regarded as the book that made his literary reputation.

“We were having dinner together one night and I blurted out ‘Who has the film rights to ‘Midnight’s Children?’ It wasn’t planned. I just asked and Salman agreed,” said Mehta. Rushdie spent two years turning his 600-page book into a 130-page script. The final result delivers a fascinating look at India’s transition from British colonialism to independence. Rushdie’s script is also bolstered by a strong cast including Bhabha as Saleem and Siddharth Narayan as Shiva, the other character switched at birth. Shot in Sri Lanka in 2011, “Midnight’s Children” was

filmed under the alias of “Winds of Change” to avoid any protests by fundamentalist groups and the production delays they might trigger.

Over the years, Mehta and Rushdie have both had run-ins with fundamentalists. While attempting to film “Water” in India in 2000, Mehta received death threats and saw effigies of herself burnt in the streets by angry crowds. Hindu protesters also destroyed the film’s sets and harassed Mehta’s crew. As a result, filming was relocated to Sri Lanka in 2003. Rushdie, too, was surrounded by one of the most notorious controversies in literary history, in 1988, with the publication of his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses.” The work inspired book burnings and protests from Muslims around the world and the fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 that sent the author into seclusion for several years.

“The Iranian government did make a complaint to Sri Lanka, so we couldn’t shoot for two days. But that was it for political setbacks,” Mehta said. The Toronto-based filmmaker also prepared diligently for the physical challenge of shooting 70 days of footage — twice her usual load — in 64 locations.

“The first thing I did was get a trainer and get in shape. Then I stopped smoking,” Mehta grinned as she reminisced about the live cobras, tanks, bombers and myriad of stunts crammed into the film. “You can’t shoot a mammoth story like this and work 18 hours a day if you’re not physically prepared.”

— CONSTANCE DROGANES

Striking Midnight

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Alexa Chung in Chanel.

Sean Avery

Olivier Zahm and

Harley Viera-

Newton in Chanel

with Annabelle

Dexter-Jones.

Julie Delpy in Escada.

Robert De Niro

André Saraiva

and Theo Wenner

Kiernan Shipka in

Chanel.

Deepa Mehta

WWD.COM

PRIME CUTS: Berlin has always been a city that likes to link fashion and art, but this season’s Gallery Weekend got an exceptionally high fashion kickoff Thursday night with “Cutting Age,” a runway show of iconic pieces spanning much of Yohji Yamamoto’s career.

Presented in the cement interior of St. Agnes Church, soon to serve as an exhibition space for Berlin gallery owner Johann König, the Audi-sponsored event drew an interdisciplinary crowd. Alicja Kwade was among the artists in attendance, joining collectors Thomas Grässlin and Christian Boros, whose wife, Karen, walked the runway; Stefano Pilati; Cameron Silver; opera singer Nadja Michael, and, most notably of all, Yamamoto himself. This was the designer’s first show of his work in Germany, outside of presentations of Y-3, his 12-year-old collaboration with Adidas,

Thirty-six outfits from current and past collections took to the runway, his signature visions in black sharing the stage with any number of highly colored stylistic riffs. While melancholy is a word often used to describe Yamamoto and his work, neither the show nor the designer lived up to that characterization. It was a beaming Yamamoto who bounced on stage to accept the audience’s applause, pointing his fingers in a “you’re the man” kind of rock star gesture.

Asked if we should consider the show “Yohji’s greatest hits,” the designer said chance had a lot to do with the selection. “We have offices in Paris and Tokyo, and it was hard to find pieces in good condition in the archives. So we couldn’t include anything from the Eighties and had to start with 1992,” he told WWD backstage after the show.

While he hasn’t changed his critical stance regarding fast fashion, he said, “I feel a sort of new wind starting to blow…because people are tired with fast fashion and too expensive accessories. In the last two years, my company’s business has been going up and up.”

And, no, he’s not the last of his kind. “It’s not a question of generation but of how hungry you are,” he said. “So new young powerful designers are coming from Eastern Europe, Korea, Taiwan, maybe Brazil.” He’s ready to welcome them, noting, “I need rivals to fight with.”

“Cutting Age” was just the first part of a four-day Yohji-thon in Berlin, which continues with “An Evening With Yohji Yamamoto” at Soho House on Friday with Yamamoto conversing with architectural designer Asif Kahn about fashion, his label, his career and what 2013 holds for him. On Saturday, the video installation “5 Cuts/A Visual Dialogue” will premiere at the creative space Made, while on Sunday, Berlin’s leading conceptual retailer Andreas Murkudis will present “Untitled Berlin,” an installation designed by Masao Nihei, Yamamoto’s longtime set designer of choice. — MELISSA DRIER

DOING A DREXLER: London was clearly calling Millard “Mickey” Drexler, who was spotted multiple times around town this

week. At one point he was chatting with his pal Sir Philip Green in the lobby of the Dorchester Hotel — Green’s home away from home — while at another, he was at Claridge’s, having bacon and eggs with Nick Ashley and James Eden of the men’s tailored clothing and accessories label Private White V.C.

J. Crew junkies stay tuned: Private White V.C. is a vertically integrated Manchester-based company that specializes in men’s clothing, accessories and outerwear with a rugged, utility feel inspired by military garments and classic British men’s wear silhouettes. Ashley, a son of the late Laura and Bernard Ashley and former head of Alfred Dunhill men’s wear,

designs the line. Expect to see the brand’s peacoats, raincoats, and Harris Tweed city-to-country jackets coming to a J. Crew outlet near you. — SAMANTHA CONTI

REGULAR HOURS: “This time of day is very interesting — there’s this bright thing up in the sky I’m not familiar with,” said party photographer Patrick McMullan at the eighth annual Purses & Personalities lunch Thursday at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan.

The event, which was raising funds for the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, honored McMullan along with Betsy Pitts and Claudia Overstrom of the

Eponymous handbag line; Susan Meyer of JP Crickets footwear, and jeweler Prince Dmitri of Yugoslavia. The crowd included Nicole Miller, Eric Javits, Nina Griscom, Courtney Moss, Jamee Gregory, Mark Gilbertson and Muffie Potter Aston, while before the lunch there was a silent auction for bags from the likes of Hermès, Carlos Falchi, Fairchild Baldwin, Michael Kors, Douglas Hannant, T. Anthony and Red Valentino. But the afternoon’s star turned out to be Carline Balan, a past attendee of the club

who gave an impassioned speech about how it changed her life and urged the audience to give to do the

same. “So as you gallivant around the world, just think that $2 or $2,000 can do just that — change someone’s life,” she said. — WWD STAFF

IN THE SPIRIT OF EPHRON: Nearly a year after her death, Nora Ephron still is on the minds of women in the close-knit film community. Jane Rosenthal, who cofounded the Tribeca Film Festival with Robert De Niro in 2002, has been hosting a women filmmakers brunch for the past decade. On Thursday, she told a room filled with guests such as Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, Bryce Dallas

Howard, Sandra Bernhard, Julie Taymor, Robin Roberts, Hannah Storm and Blythe Danner that she wanted to honor Ephron with an award given to a writer or director with a distinctive voice that embodies her spirit and vision. “One of my earliest supporters in the business was Nora Ephron,” Rosenthal said. “She was so smart and always had on a crisp Armani suit. I wanted to do something so she’d still be part of this festival.”

The $25,000 prize, which was funded by vogue.com, went to Meera Menon, whose film “Farah Goes Bang” is a road trip comedy about a woman in her 20s who tries to lose her virginity while campaigning in 2004 across America for presidential candidate John Kerry.

“We have so much credit card debt from making the film,” moaned Menon as she accepted the prize. “For our film, we’re trying to follow [Ephron’s] lead in taking issues that are kind of painful and fear ridden.”

Wearing jeans, a tweed jacket and loafers, Close said she’s about to film an ensemble movie, “Low Down,” in L.A., and is working on a project with Julie Lynn and Bonnie Curtis, producers of “Albert Nobbs.” “I’m trying to do theater,” she said. “I’d love to work with Julie [Taymor]. She’s basically a genius.”

Also on hand was Perri Peltz, the former news anchor-turned-documentarian, who said she is working on a film for HBO about De Niro’s father, who was an Abstract Expressionist painter. Storm, another news anchor-turned-director, is contributing to ESPN’s “Nine for IX” documentary series about compelling women athletes. Storm said her subject, basketball player Sheryl Swoopes, has been called the female Michael Jordan. “I’m looking to

expand and do more films about women and girls telling their stories.” — SHARON EDELSON

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPES: Decades after Richie Notar learned the ropes as a Studio 54 busboy, he is still working the fashion crowd. When his old boss, Ian Schrager, rang him up to throw an impromptu 20-person dinner party Saturday at Notar’s new swanky eatery Harlow in New York, Notar was at the ready. The Nobu cofounder even trekked to the flower district for the peonies Schrager requested. Tables were shuffled, candelabras with 16-inch candles were found and staffers were repeatedly read the riot act. “All day I kept saying to them, ‘Do you know how important this

is to me?’” Notar said with a laugh. “When I went by the table, Ian said, ‘Richie used to be a busboy for me. I’m really proud of him.’ That meant a lot to me.”

By chance, another Studio 54 regular, Stephen Burrows, was at

Harlow that night. The East 56th Street address has age-old media ties, having been built by William Randolph Hearst, who gave it to his mistress, Marion Davies. “Half the people who dine out aren’t there for the meal — they’re doing it because they’re doing a deal,” Notar said.

Notar’s Studio 54 know-how will be put to use this fall when choosing uniforms, lighting and the decor for a new place in what used to be the Lenox Lounge. In honor of Studio 54’s 36th anniversary, Notar will reminisce about the club Friday night on the “Marc and Myra Show” on SiriusXM with Bob Colacello, Beau Ryan (whose godmother Diana Vreeland was a regular) and Steve Rubell’s former boyfriend Bill Hamilton. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

11WWD FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

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The latest tragedy is leading to demands for greater action. Although none of this is new, passions have been heightened by the deaths, with growing demands that factory owners confront and tackle compliance issues. There were mourning processions and separate ral-lies by union leaders across the city. Mantu Ghosh, president of the Garments Workers’ Trade Union Center, called for the ar-rest of the owner of the build-ing, a sentiment echoed by Abul Hasan Rubel, acting chief co-ordinator of the Ganasanghati Andolan. Although compen-sation is one of the demands, many labor leaders said that it is hardly ever done to the right extent and often takes too long to process.

Compensation was one of the demands the government responded to immediately, re-vealing a donation of 5 million takas, or $70,500 at current ex-change, to victims; 20,000 takas, or $250, to the families of the dead, and 5,000 takas, or $65, to the injured, officials of the labor union said.

An official of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told WWD that although the agency is working to improve the situ-ation of the garment workers, it also faced the wrath of the mobs as textile workers pelted their office with stones on Thursday. All five of the com-panies located in Rana Plaza were members of the BGMEA.

BGMEA also held a press conference on Wednesday in which it unveiled the formation of three committees to oversee rehabilitation, compensation and proper treatment of the injured. Other action items in-cluded the opening of two cen-ters, one at the BGMEA offices and another at Savar, to collect information on the workers at the factories affected, and three blood collection units.

Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, Bangladesh home minister, said a five-member committee had been formed to investigate the situation and submit its report within seven working days. The report, which will probe the cause of the collapse and check on the number of casualties, will include a police official and be headed by an additional secre-tary of the home ministry.

Labels found at the loca-tion included those from Joe Fresh, the Canadian company owned by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. A Joe Fresh spokeswoman said, “We remain persistent in our effort to reach our vendor in Bangladesh to understand what caused this tragedy and to determine precisely how best to help the employees and their families. We are commit-ted to supporting local authori-ties in the rescue and care of affected families.”

She said parent company Loblaw “has robust vendor stan-dards designed to ensure that products are manufactured in a socially responsible way, and ensuring a safe and sustainable work environment.

“We engage international au-diting firms to inspect against these standards,” she said. “We will not work with vendors who

do not meet our standards. Our audits align with those of indus-try around the world, however in light of the recent tragedies in Bangladesh, we recognize that these measures do not address the issue of building construction or integrity. Loblaw is committed to finding solutions to this situ-ation by expanding the scope of our requirements to ensure the physical safety of workers pro-ducing our products.”

International organizations have been demanding that other

companies whose labels were found at the location, including Primark, Matalan and Mango, be held accountable as well.

The British mass-market clothing chain Primark con-firmed that one of its suppli-ers used the second floor of the Bangladesh factory. “The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling inci-dent at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved,” a Primark

spokesman said. “Primark has been engaged for several years with NGOs and other retail-ers to review the Bangladeshi industry’s approach to factory standards. Primark will push for this review to also include building integrity,” adding that the retailer’s ethical trade team is “working to collect in-formation, assess which com-munities the workers come from and to provide support where possible.”

The Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights said the workers want the factory owner — described in news re-ports as a local politician — to be imprisoned or they will go on general strike.

Delwar Hossain, the owner of the Tazreen factory that burned to the ground killing 112 workers in November, is still walking free, it noted, and the government has not brought charges against him. The workers say they will not

allow Rana to go uncharged, said the institute, which is run by longtime labor rights activist Charles Kernaghan.

The institute noted that the workers in the factories toil from 8 a.m. to as late as 10:30 p.m., often seven days a week. The workers are paid what the institute described as “starva-tion wages — 12 cents an hour for helpers, 22 cents for ju-nior sewing operators and just 26 cents an hour for even the

most senior sewing operators.” About 80 percent of the workers are young women 18, 19 and 20 years of age.

The Bangladeshi garment workers also want the U.S. gov-ernment to deny Generalized System of Preferences trade benefits to Bangladesh until the Bangladeshi workers fi-nally have the right to orga-nize independent unions. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office is currently reviewing

Bangladesh’s GSP status to determine if it should be re-newed or revoked.

The institute said, “One-hundred percent of the workers want a union. But the owners and Bangladeshi government have refused to allow it. Rather than support the workers, the owners hire thugs to beat the workers, firing and blacklisting any worker who speaks up.”

Reps. Joe Crowley (D., N.Y.) and Sander Levin (D., Mich.), members of the House Ways

and Means Committee, who were part of a group of House lawmakers that have pressed USTR to complete its review of Bangladesh’s compliance with labor eligibility require-ments under the GSP, said in a joint statement, “This tragedy mandates the need to immedi-ately do more to address safety conditions in Bangladesh’s gar-ment sector in a way that helps Bangladeshi workers and re-spects their rights. We urge that anyone responsible for these deaths be prosecuted to fullest extent of the law.”

Rep. George Miller (D., Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education & the Workforce Committee, called on Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which was also said to subcontract at the facility, to commit to im-proving conditions.

“The recent actions taken by the company on a voluntary basis are not working to allevi-ate the deadly negligence that continues to cause so much human loss and suffering,” wrote Miller, referring to Wal-Mart’s recent letter to its suppli-ers for improved factory health and safety initiatives, including a “zero-tolerance policy for un-authorized subcontracting.”

A Wal-Mart spokesman said, “We are saddened by this trag-ic event. Our investigation has confirmed Wal-Mart had no authorized production in this facility. If we learn of any un-

authorized production, we will take appropriate action based upon our zero-tolerance policy on unauthorized subcontract-ing. We remain committed to promoting stronger safety measures in factories and that work continues.”

In his letter, Miller wrote, “What is needed are the binding commitments that are included in [the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety] Agreement. As one of the nation’s wealthiest and largest employers, Wal-Mart has a unique role and responsi-bility to do the right thing and set the best standard not just here in America, but in the rest of the world. The situation in Bangladesh remains unaccept-able for any employer much less our nation’s largest.”

Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum, said, “We need the brands to make sig-nificant changes in how they monitor their suppliers and to make a meaningful commit-ment to worker safety.” Gearhart said the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, a binding agreement that has been endorsed by two global brands, would create rigorous inspections, transparency and oversight and ensure that work-ers and their organizations are an integral part of the solution.

The Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production organi-zation said, “As Bangladesh’s garment industry has grown into one of the largest in the world, so too have the chal-lenges of establishing ethical working standards there. It is of the utmost importance to us to ensure that all WRAP-certified facilities maintain socially com-pliant practices on an ongoing basis so that responsible and safe manufacturing is interwo-ven into their daily operations.”

WRAP said none of the five factories located in the Rana Plaza building were currently certified by the organization. One of them, New Wave Style Ltd., had been certified in the past. Their first certificate ex-pired in 2007, after which they did not renew until 2011. An unannounced follow-up audit conducted at the facility by a WRAP auditor in March 2012 revealed that the facility was failing to maintain compliant practices in accordance with WRAP’s “12 Principles.” The factory failed to appropriately address these issues, and their certification expired in October and was not renewed.

“WRAP remains dedicated to promoting socially respon-sible manufacturing around the world and will continue to devote significant resources to this goal in Bangladesh,” it said. “While we see progress being made in this arena, this tragedy at Rana Plaza serves as a stark reminder of the im-mense work that still needs to be done. As major stakehold-ers in the global garment in-dustry, we will continue to be a responsive and effective supply chain management partner that helps factories maintain safe, responsible and ethical working environments.”

— WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SAMANTHA CONTI AND

SHARON EDELSON

12

We’ve all been through this so recently. And we’re still fighting

for survival. Is basic safety too much to ask?

— GARMENT WORKER MARIAM SHEIKH

Bangladesh Building Disaster Death Toll, Outcry Rise{Continued from page one}

Rescue efforts continued on Thursday in Bangladesh.

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