Biz Buzz: eBay deepens its fashion closet

Biz Buzz keeps its fabulously accessorized ear to the ground to provide breaking fashion news coverage.

Next month, online marketplace giant eBay is set to launch a new section of the site specifically devoted to designer sample sales, a la sites like Ideeli and Gilt Groupe. 

The “Fashion Vault,” as it is called, will offer clothes and accessories at seriously discounted prices for limited periods of time, or during what are called “flash sales.” According to WWD, the initial setup will include weekly flash sales, but the rate of sales will steadily increase over following months. Last year, eBay tested designer labels Hugo Boss, DKNY, Max Mara and Cole Haan for the new site feature, and shoppers can expect to see the same names again in the future.

EBay also now boasts an online outlet mall, currently featuring pieces from Lord & Taylor and next month, merchandise from Brooks Brothers. If you can’t wait for the official March opening, you’ll be glad to know Narciso Rodriguez and Norma Kamali already have capsule collections, for prices well below their higher-end counterparts, available on the site. Other brands and stores are expected to jump on board in the future, as well.

“We are playing to our strengths,” said Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces, to WWD. “EBay is the number-one clothing site on the Internet… Whether it’s Tory Burch or Levi’s jeans, we’ve got it,” she said. “…We are focused on taking that store with great values and great inventory and really unlocking that in new ways. We want to have a complement of experiences.”

- by Jasmine Thomas

Biz Buzz: Zac Posen for the...slightly less rich

Biz Buzz keeps its fabulously accessorized ear to the ground to provide breaking fashion news coverage.

If you love designer fashion (we sure do) but loathe designer prices, here's a bit of good news: Zac Posen announced Wednesday via WWD that his lower-priced line, Z Spoke, will be launching exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue in the spring.

A look from Zac Posen's new line, Z Spoke. Photo: WWD

Posen's new venture is set to include a 60-piece collection, with prices starting at $78 for a t-shirt and $675 for a knit dress. That may still seem like an outrageous price for us not-so-fortunate college students, but if you’re familiar with Posen's prices for his signature collection, your mouth should be hitting the floor (they usually range from $900 to $12,000, and nearly $20,000 for custom pieces).

Z Spoke will debut in 17 Saks stores, as well as on saks.com, and have an emphasis on separates, such as knits, blazers and khaki shorts — a far cry from the red-carpet pieces Posen is known for.

"It's not Zac-for-less, it’s not the little sister collection at all," says Posen in WWD. "The dresses — that's something I can do with my eyes closed. This is about a new identity."

Although he has found success among Hollywood stars, Posen says the line isn’t a "celebrity brand." Z Spoke is set to capture the street aesthetic for the urban hipster type of girl, he says.

But don’t expect the line to repeat the same "tough" styles currently in the market.

"I treat a T-shirt as a T-shirt should be treated. With a lot of love."

- by Jasmine Thomas

Biz Buzz: Luella Forced Out of Business

Biz Buzz keeps its fabulously accessorized ear to the ground to provide breaking fashion news coverage. 

On Tuesday, Club 21, Luella’s global licensee and distributor for ready-to-wear and accessories, announced that its subsidiary, VSQ Ltd, decided to withdraw from its relationship with the Luella Bartley brand. 

Thus, as the six-year relationship comes to an end, the label is forced to cease trading.

A Spring 2010 look from Luella Bartley. Photo: NY Magazine.

According to the backer’s statement, spring orders for the brand could not be fulfilled after last month’s unexpected closure of Luella’s Italian production company, Carla Carini.

While changes at Luella have reportedly been brewing for the past six months, industry insiders also speculate that the business was not hitting its profit targets, according to WWD. Still, the decision comes as a surprise to some; Luella Bartley, the brand’s British designer, was named Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2008.

“This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved,” Bartley said Tuesday, as reported in The Independent. “I have had an incredible team around me…and it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate.”

The brand has been said to be vitally connected to the return of British fashion, with its “punk” pieces and party dresses sported by the likes of Alexa Chung, Lily Allen and the Geldof sisters.

Five people within Bartley’s design studio and 13 in distribution are said to be among those affected in the decision as they face losing their jobs.

- by Jasmine Thomas