Apple Fans Queue at Colette for Smartwatch

PASSING THE TIME: Around 70 people queued outside Paris concept store Colette on Friday morning hoping to snag one of the first Apple watches. The first in line had been waiting since 3 p.m. the previous day, while others had joined the queue on Thursday evening, spending a chilly spring night outdoors without any certainty that the product would be available once the store opened its doors. “We read a lot of things on the Internet, approximately 1,000 watches, but with the preorders, it’s impossible to say actually how many watches they have. I’m crossing my fingers, of course,” said Lucas Dufossez, 26, a sales manager for a communications company in Belgium. Dufossez was determined to lay his hands on a stainless steel model with a Milanese Loop bracelet costing 799 euros in Europe and $699 in the United States. He decided to wait in line after being told by Apple that the product would not be available for several weeks if he ordered it online. “To be the first, that’s the most important. Personally, my order is scheduled for May 12 and I can’t wait until May 12,” he explained, adding that he had spotted the watch on celebrities in magazines. “Of course

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Lancel Celebrates Pop Range

BON VOYAGE: “Bubble gum: That’s the scent that pops to my head when I look at the bags,” exclaimed Francis Kurkdjian. The perfumer was talking about Pop – Lancel’s new line of ultra-light travel leather goods done in perky, sweet hues ranging from tourmaline yellow to cinnabar red. Before going for sale online on May 7 — a first for Lancel — the collection was presented at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo on Thursday night with Mélanie Thierry, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance and Dolores Doll among the guests. “That’s what I do,” said Marianne Romestain, Lancel’s chief executive officer. “Everywhere I go, I have to launch an e-business,” said the former Comptoir des Cotonniers and Gerard Darel executive. “The start of the actual e-commerce is slated for September,” she revealed. Romestain said she would favor a 48-hour weekender for her frequent trips to Shanghai. “I’m a good packer. One black dress, a black pair of pants, a few tops, and I’m done,” she said. Vahina Giocante already sported a tourmaline 12-hour item strapped across her shoulder. “Yellow like the sun. That’s my color. I just came back from L.A.,” said the actress, who is shooting a TV series in Portugal. “I play Mata Hari. It’s a challenging role because she

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Europe’s Stock Markets on the Rise

LONDON — Europe’s stock markets all gained ground in trading Friday morning. The FTSE MIB in Milan rose 1.5 percent to 23,545.08, followed by the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris, both up 0.6 percent to 11,797.91 and to 5,207.77 respectively. The FTSE 100 in London gained 0.4 percent to 7,081.67. Fashion, luxury and retail stocks had more of an uneven start. French Connection saw a 17 percent slump in its share price Friday, to 0.44 pounds, on the back of a profit warning. The British retailer said that its first-half retail sales performance is forecast “to be materially lower than expected,” citing “challenging conditions” during the period. While the firm reported that its wholesale performance is in line with expectations, and its licensing continues to perform strongly, it said that its financial performance for the year to January 2016 is now forecast to be “below the current market expectations.” Other fallers included MySale Group, 1.4 percent to 0.54 pounds; Aeffe, 1.7 percent to 2.38 euros; and Koovs, 2.5 percent to 0.74 pounds. Stocks that rose numbered Asos, 1.6 percent to 39.93 pounds; Brunello Cucinelli, 1.4 percent to 17.11 euros; Pandora, 3.2 percent to 717.50 Danish kronor; and Italia Independent, 2.3 percent to

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Inter Parfums SA Sales Rise 3.1% in Q1

PARIS – Inter Parfums SA reported first-quarter sales rose 3.1 percent to 77.2 million euros, or $87.1 million. At constant currency, revenues declined 6.4 percent, which the Paris-based subsidiary of Inter Parfums Inc. of New York blamed on tough comps owing to the launch of Karl Lagerfeld fragrances in the year-ago quarter, and a dramatic decline in the value of the euro this year. By brand, sales rose 72 percent for Repetto, 52 percent for Jimmy Choo, 19 percent for Montblanc and 13 percent for Boucheron. Brands in negative territory included Karl Lagerfeld, down 77 percent; Balmain 52 percent; and Paul Smith 22 percent, while Lanvin, Van Cleef & Arpels and St. Dupont registered low single-digit declines. By region, North American improved 29 percent, while European sales declined, also linked to tough comps, the company said. The French company confirmed its sales forecast for the full year of 310 million to 320 million euros. RELATED CONTENT: WWD Earnings Tracker >>

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Karl Lagerfeld To Give Master Class in Hyères

MASTER TALK: Karl Lagerfeld is to give a master class at the Villa Noailles in Hyères, France today at 5 p.m. local time. The master class will be one of the highlights of the 30th edition of the International Festival of Fashion and Photography, that runs Monday, April 27. Other highlights include a round-table on Instagram. Speakers include Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Simon Porte Jacquemus and Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who presided over the fashion jury in 2013 and is also a past Hyères winner. The awards ceremony is to take place Sunday. Lagerfeld is the festival’s artistic director this year; Virginie Viard, Chanel’s creative studio director, president of the fashion jury, and Eric Pfrunder, image director at Chanel fashion, president of the photography jury.

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Editor’s Letter: Welcome to the New Top 100 List

This list, our annual ranking of the world’s biggest beauty companies, has become a staple of the industry. Longtime devotees of the Top 100 will notice a change this year, however. In addition to the sales-based rankings and company goings-on that you have come to rely on, we’ve added a new dimension to the Top 100, providing in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis to give you a more nuanced picture of the global competitive landscape in beauty today. Our editors spent countless hours combing through the available financial data for the publicly traded companies on Beauty’s top 100, 50 in all, to compare and contrast everything from operating profit to R&D spending to shareholder equity. We also tapped outside experts, like L2, for insights into beauty’s top digital thinkers, and assessed metrics such as the number of women on the board of directors. While the numbers one, two and three companies on the list—L’Oréal, Unilever and Procter & Gamble respectively—probably won’t come as a big surprise, hopefully our Top 100 makeover will. E-mail me at jenny_fine@fairchildfashion.com and let me know what you think, and in the meantime, check out the other features in this issue, including a tour of the coolest new

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Inter Parfums Sales Down in First Quarter

Inter Parfums Inc. reported a first-quarter net sales decline of more than 10 percent, due in part to the negative impact from the strong dollar. For the three months ended March 31, company net sales decreased 10.3 percent to $109.2 million, compared with $121.7 million in the year-ago period. The company said that at comparable foreign currency exchange rates, consolidated first quarter net sales were $118.4 million. By division, its European-based product sales declined 15.2 percent to $86.7 million, while its U.S.-based product sales gained 16 percent to $22.5 million, driven by two new launches, namely Extraordinary by Oscar de la Renta and Icon by Dunhill. Jean Madar, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Parfums, cited difficult year-over-year comparisons and the foreign exchange for the sales decline in European operations. He stated, “The decline in sales is also due in large part to the difficult comparison for the Karl Lagerfeld brand. The launch of Karl Lagerfeld’s signature scents for both men and women yielded more than $13 million in sales in 2014, as compared to brand sales of $2.5 million in 2015. With a new Karl Lagerfeld product launch scheduled for later this year, we expect to see more robust brand sales.

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‘Panorama’ Aims to Change Italian Image

MILAN — In a bid to move beyond the heaping plates of spaghetti and sprawling olive groves that shape many a tourist’s mental picture of Italy, several leading associations from the private sector have partnered with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development; trade promotion agency ICE; Simest — a company that promotes Italian business abroad; the Milan Chamber of Commerce, and the city of Milan on a special audiovisual installation called “Panorama,” to debut May 20 in Piazza Gae Aulenti. With design heavyweights the Fondazione Altagamma, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and the Salone del Mobile onboard, the coalition aims to put on a unified front for the hoards of sightseers expected in Milan for the World Expo, which begins May 1. Visitors who step inside the octagonal “Panorama” — which features a dark wood exterior, and walls more than 16 feet high — will be swept into a high definition, 360-degree view of about 300 Italian cultural, natural and manufacturing sites, including the ancient ruins of Agrigento in Sicily, and the lush red-and-gold interior of Milan’s La Scala opera house. The images were shot using drone technology, and an accompanying soundtrack will feature pieces from top Italian composers and performers. “Italy is

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Alber Elbaz On Technology at Condé Nast International Luxury Conference

FLORENCE — Alber Elbaz is hoping that sharing the experience of being a speaker at the same conference with David Lauren will finally help him get a table at the ever fully booked Ralph Lauren restaurant in Paris. This was only one of the several jokes by Lanvin’s artistic director on the second day of the Condé Nast International Luxury Conference here Thursday. Responding to whether computers will ever replace the creative mind of a fashion designer, Elbaz peppered his speech with his own difficult brush with technology. Here, a few of his anecdotes and stories: —Referring to the wearable high-tech T-shirt that Lauren, executive vice president of global advertising, marketing and corporate communications at Ralph Lauren Corp., was wearing to illustrate his heartbeat, Elbaz said: “I would spend half of my time in the emergency room if I were wearing that.” —“I was recently at a garden party in Dubai meant for 200 clients and 400 showed up, and 387 selfies [were taken] in three hours. Out of 387 people, statistically 5 percent have the flu. I am a hypochondriac…” —“I stayed in this 17th century hotel with a modern smart room. It took me 30 minutes just to figure out how to switch

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Bangladesh Remembers Rana Plaza, Two Years On

These last 24 months in Dhaka have been a prime example of the gamut that emotions can run. From horror — as the eight-story Rana Plaza collapsed on April 24, 2013, killing 1,135 garment workers — to helplessness, to suffering, to collective action, to planning, to correction and everything in between. And in many of these varying emotions, the garment industry in Bangladesh found resonance across the world. The resonance is particularly strong this week, as tears are welling up in memory, and prayers sung, just short of the second anniversary of Rana Plaza on Friday. It is also a week of intense introspection; talking about compensation payments that have not been completed, rehabilitation gone awry, discussions in which change and the vision for growth in the next three years have come into sharper focus. Garment workers, who spent months demanding justice — and the arrests of the owners of the five factories housed in Rana Plaza as well as its owner, Sohel Rana — have paid special attention to the judicial system in Dhaka this week, which is grinding on. Last week, the investigating officer for the Rana Plaza case asked the court for more time before filing the charge sheet against the 21 people

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Bottega Veneta Does Residential Project

MILAN — Bottega Veneta has partnered with a real estate developer for the first time, designing the grand lobby and all common areas inside a Berlin luxury residence by Ralf Schmitz, a German firm known for its upscale property developments. Since its inception in 1864, the company has remained family-run and worked on upwards of 2,500 properties. With architecture by Sebastian Treese Architects, the new residence, called Eisenzahn 1, is located in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf West Berlin neighborhood and slated to open in fall 2016. Spread across six floors, the building is comprised of 11 living spaces and one full-floor penthouse with a private rooftop terrace; at 5,035 square feet and 8.5 million euros, or $9.16 million at current exchange, that’s the most expensive of the bunch. Prices for the other residences start at 2.2 million euros, or $2.35 million, and the smallest is 2,067 square feet. An entire floor level was scrapped to allow for ceilings nearly 11 feet high, and any of the residences can be fully outfitted in Bottega Veneta home decor, upon request. Daniel Schmitz, managing director of Ralf Schmitz and the great-great-grandson of its founder, said he was familiar with work Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier had

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Fashion and Beauty Book Spring Releases

From witty novels to helpful how-tos, a slew of new fashion and beauty books are hitting shelves this spring.

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Service Safari: New Beauty Services in New York

Beauty editorial assistant Anna Dysinger scopes out the surge of new beauty services in New York. PH7 NAIL COUTURE Opened: July 28 When Cici Huang got pregnant and stopped using nail polishes with chemicals, she couldn’t find a nontoxic salon in Williamsburg. Thus was born pH7 Nail Couture (the name refers to the pH balance of pure water), which Huang opened with her sister-in-law, Helen Ke. The all-natural nail salon uses only three- and five-free polishes from lines like RGB, Butter London and Shewasi Lacquer; organic soy wax and Calgel, a gas-permeable gel system that enables moisture to get to the nail bed. 227 Grand Street, Brooklyn; 718.218.8586 BEAUTYRX PEEL BAR Opened: October 17 Nestled in a bright corner of the Butterfly Studio Salon is Dr. Neil Schultz’s BeautyRX Peel Bar, where consumers can receive his signature 40 percent glycolic peel at a fraction of the price — just $50, compared to $225 in-office. The service is super fast and simple — a nurse removes any makeup, then applies the glycolic peel with a cotton ball, leaves it on for two minutes and rinses it with water. The formula is gentle enough for sensitive skin and doesn’t require time to recoup. Says Dr. Schultz, “This is a

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Taylor Schilling Promotes ‘The Overnight’ at TriBeCa

“Girl…I’ve been taped in securely. It’s a whole situation,” Taylor Schilling is talking about her boobs, which anyone who’s a fan of “Orange Is the New Black” has already seen many times over. The actress is at the Smyth downtown in a hotel room that has been cleared of its contents and staged with directors’ chairs and a TriBeCa Film Festival-branded step and repeat. Schilling is there along with her costar Judith Godrèche to promote “The Overnight,” showing at the festival. The film first made its rounds in January at Sundance, where it sparked a minor bidding war among six buyers including Netflix and Lionsgate (The Orchard ended up paying $4 million for it.) In the film, Adam Scott and Schilling play Alex and Emily, a couple hoping to recruit new friends having just relocated to east Los Angeles from Seattle. They meet Kurt — a suave and self-assured hipster played expertly by Jason Schwartzman — when their sons share a bag of gummy worms at a local playground. After a few minutes of chit-chat, Kurt invites the couple over for pizza later that night, a nighttime playdate for the boys and a get-to-know-you meal for the grown-ups (consummately L.A., the pizza

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Estée Lauder Unveils New Dimension Line Fronted By Eva Mendes

Estée Lauder wants to transform the beauty landscape with its latest offering, the aptly titled New Dimension collection. Fronted by actress Eva Mendes, the two skin-care products, New Dimension Shape + Fill Expert Serum and New Dimension Expert Liquid Tape, will be launched in North America in May and worldwide in September. Lauder will also debut two contouring compacts, the Shape + Sculpt Face Kit and the Shape + Sculpt Eye Kit. “Women have many dimensions. The new vision of beauty goes beyond skin to the whole face,” said Estée Lauder global brand president Jane Hertzmark Hudis. “The notion of structure and volume being the new beauty and wanting to look good from every angle are big ideas in our industry. It’s not about problem-solution, it’s about positive transformation.” Said Mendes, “When you’re on a red carpet, you’re photographed from every angle and you can’t control that. But if you have products you love, once you go out there, you don’t worry as much. It’s a confidence booster.” Referring to the collection’s development and testing, which took two-and-a-half years, Hudis said, “Everything about it has been crafted differently.” The skin care is designed to work on multiple levels to plump and smooth skin from

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Backstage Confidential: Odile Gilbert, La Visionnaire

Genius hairstylist Odile Gilbert has been a staple backstage at fashion shows since her first with John Galliano in 1994. Anna Dysinger shadowed the Parisian-born star at New York Fashion Week to get her take on the season’s key beauty trends. Karlie Kloss glides into the backstage hair area 30 minutes before the Jason Wu show is scheduled to start. Odile Gilbert, the epitome of comfort in black stirrup leggings from The Row and black UGG Australia slippers, whisks the supermodel into a chair and begins methodically wrapping small sections of her hair around a curling iron, chatting away with the leggy beauty like an old friend. Gilbert’s hands move meticulously at a rapid-fire pace, but she notes that the loose, wavy hairstyle is much more arduous than an intricate updo. “It’s often more difficult because it’s simple,” she says. “Natural hair has more movement and is alive.” A throng of photographers, editors, bloggers and other camera-wielding media folk close in, eager for a money shot of the duo. A petite male photographer with three cameras slung around his neck aims and shoots, holding down the shutter-release button so his camera sounds like a machine gun. Gilbert gives him a threatening sideways

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Miu Miu Opens in Miami Design District

MIAMI HEAT: Miu Miu, which has operated a boutique at Bal Harbour Shops since 2009, is adding to the sizzle in the Miami Design District with a shop that opened Thursday. Architect Roberto Baciocchi designed the bi-level, 5,435-square-foot store at 190 NE 39th Street. A perforated metal curtain backs its glass facade adorned with light boxes and geometric bands in black marble. The store is a mélange of textures: Gold damask and floor-to-ceiling mirrors cover walls on the ground floor, which is divided into three rooms dedicated to handbags, accessories and shoes. Damask also lines display cases framed in polished steel. A black marble staircase leads to a similar setting for women’s ready-to-wear, while beige carpeting, a painted canvas ceiling and velvet mohair seating soften the decor for an elegant effect.

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Sally Hershberger, Doug Lloyd Talk Sephora Launch

Spend an hour with Sally Hershberger and it quickly becomes clear that the star stylist is kind of like the Forrest Gump of hair—a key playmaker at pivotal moments in beauty history. Break the price barrier with an $800 haircut? Check. Give Jane Fonda a gasp-inducing shag cut for her first post-divorce Academy Awards appearance? Check. Conceive category-killer ideas for John Frieda hair care. Make Hillary Clinton look cool on the cover of Vogue? Colonize the Meatpacking district before it became a bridge-and-tunnel playground. Check, check and check. But now, Hershberger is channeling her time, (personal) money and energy into 24K, her line of styling products that is available online and on HSN and set to launch in Sephora in July. Meanwhile, Hershberger’s namesake mass-market line is being scaled back, which she acknowledges only makes sense for a woman who now charges new clients $1,000 for a haircut. “This is me,” she says. “This is what I want to do. I am luxury.” Here, WWD Beauty Inc spends a few minutes with Hershberger and Doug Lloyd, the branding guru and cofounder of Lloyd & Co., who is working with Hershberger on the creative realization of the brand. Beauty Inc.: How did

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Tabitha Soren’s ‘Fantasy Life’ Photo Exhibition Opening in L.A.

Tabitha Soren might know a thing or two about living a fantasy life. She once held the gaze of millions of viewers at MTV News, appeared in a Gap ad and married a best-selling author, yet it was only when she stepped from in front of the camera to behind one that she began to grasp the potential for not only her own life, but most of America’s. In her photography exhibition titled “Fantasy Life” that opens Saturday at Los Angeles’ Kopeikin Gallery, Soren uses baseball as a metaphor for the uniquely American concept of Manifest Destiny, which, in her words, “propels us all to feel like we need to do something extraordinary.” She started by taking pictures of the Oakland Athletics’ draft class in 2003 and tracking their successes and failures through the years. (Three still play on Major League Baseball teams, another is homeless and the rest have found new livelihoods in coaching, stonemasonry, coal mining, wineries and insurance.) She even forced them to swap their Nike and Under Armour-branded clothes for plain white tank tops so her photos wouldn’t look cluttered. When boredom in the dugout moved her to experiment with taking an abstract image of bugs and

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Spring’s Most Innovative Sunscreen Products

Sunscreen is a red-hot category. For the 12 months ending February 2015, sun-care products grew 4 percent, outpacing the prestige skin-care market, according to NPD. Here, some of spring’s most innovative launches. Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream For Face, $36 Shiseido developed a proprietary WetForce technology for its new sun-care line, which strengthens the sunscreen when it gets wet by forming a water-repellant layer. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Eventone Suncare Moisturizing Sunscreen Balm, $6 Palmer’s first line of sunscreen includes this solid-to-oil balm that melts on contact with skin. The ultramoisturizing formula blends cocoa butter, shea butter and coconut oil. L’Oréal Paris Advanced Suncare Invisible Protect Clear Cool Lotion, $10.99 The clear formula is infused with antioxidants like vitamin E and white grape seed and provides an instant cooling effect, said to reduce the skin’s temperature by four degrees. Supergoop! Defense Refresh Setting Mist with Rosemary, $28 Developed as a three-in-one, this mist sets makeup, controls oil with silica and protects against UV rays. Eau Thermale Avène Ultra-Light Hydrating Sunscreen Lotion Spray, $30 European skin-care brand Avène has launched its first sunscreen line specifically for the U.S. In addition to UVA and UVB protection, thermal spring water soothes skin. Neutrogena Cooldry Sport with Micromesh Sunscreen Spray, $11.99 The nongreasy spray uses sweat-resistant technology that

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Letter From the Editor: Turning the Page

Today we say goodbye to an old friend, a morning habit for generations. This is the final newsprint edition of WWD. We pause to acknowledge this scrappy newspaper and its 105 years of chronicling an equally scrappy industry. Decades ago, anxious reporters smoked at their desks, manual typewriters clacked, Linotypes pumped, Teletypes hummed and pneumatic tubes (the latest miracle technology at the time) carried wire reports from floor to floor through the old Fairchild building on East 12th Street. When deadline descended, colossal presses in the basement cranked up and thundered through the floors. Old-timers still talk about how the presses shook the entire building, quite a romantic coda to a day’s work of reporting inside the daily news cycle. At one time, newsboys even delivered an afternoon edition of the paper. Today, there’s nothing cyclical about news. It’s Instant Media. A global Niagara of information in a river of technology. Linotypes and Teletypes have given way to silent servers and an alphabet soup of functions and utilities, SEO, URLs, PDFs, CMS, APPs. We all know how technological leaps have rattled traditional business models across all industries. Facebook has a bigger market capitalization than Coca-Cola. But for anyone in the news business, the two

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Fortnum & Mason Revamps Beauty Floor

LONDON — Storied London department store Fortnum & Mason unveiled its new beauty hall this week, a tranquil, 7,000-square-foot space designed by London firm Waldo Works as a modern take on a Georgian ladies’ salon. The 307-year-old store’s management has been developing the space for the past two years, with two million pounds, or $3.4 million, devoted to its revamp. The investment in the store follows the appointment of chief executive officer Ewan Venters in 2012. Under Venters — who was previously director of food and restaurants at Selfridges — Fortnum & Mason’s pre-tax profits more than doubled in the year to July 2014 to 3.8 million pounds, or $6.2 million, with sales up 14 percent to 74.4 million pounds, or $122 million. Dollar figures have been converted at average exchange rates for the period. Venters has also opened offshoots of the Piccadilly department store — which is known for its luxury food hall – in London’s St. Pancras station, Heathrow’s Terminal Five and in Dubai. Jo Newton, head of buying for fashion, beauty and home for Fortnum & Mason, said the beauty floor’s relaunch grew out of the success of the store’s fragrance business, with the niche, high-end brands that the store

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Fall 2015 Makeup Trend: Graphic Eye

Peter Philips calls it the “eye catcher”; Tom Pecheux says it’s rock ’n’ roll. No matter how you spin it, the graphic eye dominated the catwalks during the Fall 2015 fashion season. “Graphic has a certain power,” says Pecheux, who created the looks at Chanel and Anthony Vaccarello. “When you see smoky, you think of something more light, gentle and romantic. Graphic is more powerful.” Philips says it’s also animalistic. At Dior, designer Raf Simons referenced “la femme animale,” which inspired Philips to draw a graphic interpretation of an animal print on the eyes. “I made sure the look was new and strong,” he says. “We’ve had a few seasons of very nude faces, so it’s saying, ‘Let’s play again with makeup and make it a bit more exciting.’”

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Beauty Inc. Top 100 2014

Call it a year of mostly ups and some downs: In 2014, 77 percent of the world’s leading beauty companies—including number one, L’Oréal—posted sales gains. But one look at the WWD Beauty Inc Top 100, our annual ranking of the world’s biggest beauty companies, shows that some key players faced significant challenges. Not least of these was caused by currency fluctuations, which had a significant impact on many firms. For example, with the exception of the big three (Shiseido, Kao and Kosé), Japanese companies all dropped a few places in the ranking, while certain European companies, particularly those with large businesses in countries plagued by political and economic instability, like Russia and Italy, lagged, too. Conversely, no surprise that South Korean firms all climbed up the rankings, in large part thanks to brisk international business, particularly in China. In terms of categories, companies with exposure to the professional hair-care channel generally continued to see their sales affected by the weakness in that segment. One notable trend in 2014 was the acceleration in acquisition activity by the leading players—L’Oréal and the Estée Lauder Cos., but also Coty, with its surprise agreement to buy Bourjois from Chanel. With the exception of L’Oréal’s purchase of

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Hearst Magazines Expands GlossyBox Partnership

COSMOBODY’S BOX: In the push to secure ever-more-vital print subscriptions and advertising dollars, magazines are rushing to form partnerships with brands in any way they can. In typical Hearst Magazines fashion, the company has expanded its relationship with GlossyBox, an international beauty subscription service, across many of its titles. Last year, the service partnered with Harper’s Bazaar and O, The Oprah Magazine. GlossyBox’s latest partnership is with CosmoBody, a digital subscription fitness channel produced by Hearst’s Entertainment & Syndication division. CosmoBody, which launched in July, is part of the Cosmopolitan brand umbrella, which allows the fitness channel to market its service across those brand platforms. That’s the crux of CosmoBody’s deal with GlossyBox. The deal, which runs in May, gives GlossyBox subscribers a box of products chosen by CosmoBody trainers, in addition to a monthlong trial with CosmoBody and a 40 percent discount to join CosmoBody. It costs $9.95 a month to join CosmoBody, which, according to sources, is struggling to grow its membership. Hearst declined to provide figures on the channel’s current membership. GlossyBox will also gain access to the database of subscribers across all Hearst titles, which includes Marie Claire, Elle and Bazaar. This allows GlossyBox to send out e-mail blasts

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Britt Robertson: Girl of the Moment

Britt Robertson is only 25 years old, but her stellar résumé suggests otherwise. In 2010, she landed her first lead role in the TV series Life Unexpected. A year later, she starred in another series, The Secret Circle. Then came supporting roles in Under the Dome and Cake; the lead in the new Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride; and, come May 22, she’s starring alongside arguably the most famous male actor in Hollywood—yes, George Clooney—in Disney’s new film, Tomorrowland. Although she’s a seasoned actress with looks to boot, April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg, casting directors for Tomorrowland, say it’s the North Carolina native’s down-to-earth attitude that gives her star power. “She has a little bit of that tomboy quality we were looking for in this role and a strong sense of self and wonder,” says Weisberg. “And she has a great sense of humor,” adds Webster. “She brings a sense of joy when she’s on set.”

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Beauty Bulletin: Some Like It Pink

Red is so 2013. Of the top-100 new lipstick shades last year, pink brought in 23 percent more dollars according to NPD. “Pink is a health-giving color that people really gravitate to. The bright, popping pinks are more energetic and you get that underlying sensuousness,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “We are even seeing more of it in the European countries and in Asia it is a very popular color as well.” If these new launches for spring and summer are any indication, the pink juggernaut shows no signs of slowing.

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Shopper Stalker: San Francisco

Shopper: Meghan Harris and daughter Lili Date/Time: 3.6.2015, 11:45 a.m. Store: Sephora Location: 2083 Union Street, San Francisco School let out early on Friday, so Meghan Harris seized the opportunity to take her teenage daughter Lili to Sephora to introduce her to makeup and skin care. “She just turned 13, and I’m feeling that she is welcome to experiment. Lili is starting to get some breakouts, so we also wanted help finding out what to use on her sensitive skin,” says Harris. A sales associate guided the duo to First Aid Beauty, a brand Lili wasn’t familiar with, but was encouraged to try for her acne. Makeup was next; Lili scored concealer and a multiuse palette from Urban Decay and Sephora’s house label, respectively. Lili thinks a small handful of cosmetics will be sufficient for her needs. “I just want to wear some for special occasions and parties and, when your friends come over, it’s fun to do each others’ makeup,” she says. While at Sephora, Harris, who spends about $300 annually on beauty, snagged some items for herself, too. “I’m really boring with makeup,” she says. “I am trying some new stuff, though, but it is all from Nars.” Total Spent: $212.00 Shopper: Kristen Ostro Date/Time:

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Top Menswear Instagrams of the Week

See our picks for the best posts from the world of menswear.

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Catherine Malandrino Lawsuit Seeks $26.9M in Damages

NEW YORK — Catherine Malandrino wants her day in court. The designer has sued multiple defendants — including Elie Tahari and Bluestar Alliance LLC — in connection with the sale of her company in 2011 and 2013. The lawsuit containing seven causes of action — such as breach of contract and tortious interference — was filed on Wednesday in a New York State Court in Manhattan. It seeks at least $26.9 million in damages that include $1.3 million for breach of an employment agreement, and failure to pay an incentive bonus of $4.9 million as well as a $2.6 million bonus from income from a diffusion line. Some of the other causes of action each seek $12.7 million in damages based on a similar set of facts connected with the sale of her company. If Malandrino were to win all the damages sought for each cause of action, the total would hit $65 million. Named in the lawsuit were defendants ASL Holdings LLC, ASL Operations LLC, Tahari ASL LLC, Elie Tahari, Arthur S. Levine and Lester E. Schreiber, all collectively the Tahari defendants. Also named as defendants were Bluestar and its founders Joseph Gabbay and Ralph Gindi, collectively the Bluestar defendants. Another defendant

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L’Oréal Rides the Multicultural Beauty Wave

Courting the burgeoning multicultural market is expected to be one of the biggest topics at this week’s National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, and L’Oréal USA comes armed and ready. The company will unleash its newly minted Multicultural Beauty Division, melding together Carol’s Daughter with products from its SoftSheen-Carson portfolio during top-to-top meetings at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla. The size of the prize is appealing: African-American, Hispanic and Asian shoppers, over-index in virtually every beauty category in comparison to the general market. Although the multicultural population’s spending won’t reach fever pitch until 2043 — when today’s minority groups become the majority of the population — Nicole Fourgoux, general manager for L’Oréal Multicultural Beauty, said the time to develop bonds is now. “Multicultural consumers may only be 39 percent of the total population now, but in 12 out of the 20 top cities, multicultural consumers are the majority and are representing 27 percent of the beauty spend,” Fourgoux explained. “Everybody is talking about the evolution of the population, but it really is happening today.” To better understand these consumers, L’Oréal took a deep dive into shopping habits, uncovering gaps between desires and what’s on mass shelves. “We are starting by

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Swire, Simon, Whitman in Miami Venture

Swire Properties, Whitman Family Development and Simon Property Group on Thursday revealed a three-way partnership to jointly develop the retail component of Brickell City Centre, a $1.05 billion, 5.4 million-square-foot mixed use development in downtown Miami whose first phase includes a luxury shopping center anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, two residential towers, a hotel and two office towers. Simon and Whitman will share the role of co-developing the retail component of Brickell City Centre. Whitman and Swire entered into a partnership in January 2013 to co-develop Brickell’s 500,000-square-foot shopping center. Simon will bring more than 55 years of international experience in the retail market, including a successful South Florida portfolio. “We’re delighted to have Simon Property Group join us and Whitman Family Development,” said Stephen Owens, president of Swire Properties. “Simon Property Group and Whitman Family Development’s expertise and proven track record in developing and managing high end shopping centers in the United States promises to broaden Brickell City Centre’s appeal to a wide spectrum of visitors, including Miami’s high net-worth residents and international clientele.” Richard Sokolov, president and chief operating officer of Simon, said, “We have already seen strong interest from retailers who have enjoyed great success with us around the country and

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Martha Stewart on Justin Bieber: ‘Grow up’

Martha Stewart has a special connection to Justin Beiber. “I’ve always been a fan. I just want him to grow up.” Stewart was standing by Beiber’s autographed guitar he donated for the silent auction at the gala Wednesday night raising nearly $500,000 to benefit the Martha Stewart Center for Living for geriatric care at Mount Sinai Hospital. The guitar wasn’t sold at the event, held at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia headquarters for 250 guests. But on Thursday, Stewart was tweeting to drum up interest. Those honored at the event were Al Gindi and the late Samuel “Sonny” Gindi, the founders of Century 21 off-price chain, as well as Betsey Gotbaum, the late Victor Gotbaum and Hester Diamond. “We believe in living life to the fullest and maintaining a great quality of life right to the end,” said Isaac Gindi, partner in Century 21 and Samuel’s son. “The Martha Stewart Center for Living helps people achieve this.”

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Buccellati Taps Peter Lindbergh for New Ads

LINDBERGH SHOOTS BUCCELLATI: Buccellati has tapped Peter Lindbergh to shoot its new advertising campaign. The German photographer portrayed model-actress Elisa Sednaoui in Milan, the city where the jewelry brand was founded in 1919. This campaign, the first in 20 years to present the brand’s products on a model rather than with still life images, is a further step in the re-positioning of Buccellati to appeal to a younger and more fashionable segment of the luxury jewelry market. The first picture, which will debut in the May issue of W Magazine, is a black and white shot of Sednaoui carrying her bicycle in the street and sporting Buccellati’s Hawaii collection, a range first introduced in 1930 and which includes pieces made forging little circles from a gold thread. Four additional images, all featuring Sednaoui caught in different moments of an imaginary everyday life in Milan, will be released later and will appear on a range of fashion publications, especially in the U.K., Italy, France and the U.S. _ Alessandra Turra.

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Swirl Networks Raises $18M in Series C Funding

SWIRL SECURES $18M IN SERIES C: Proximity-based indoor mobile marketing platform Swirl Networks Inc. has raised $18 million in a Series C funding round that brings its aggregate raise to $32 million. Swirl’s beacon-powered platform includes as clients Lord & Taylor, Hudson’s Bay, Urban Outfitters and Alex and Ani. The platform helps deliver digital content and offers to consumers’ smartphone while they shop certain areas of a store. Investors in the C round include Hearst Ventures, SoftBank Capital, Twitter Ventures and other strategic investors.

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Michelle Smith Celebrates Milly for DesigNation Launch

FLOWER POWER: Milly for DesigNation, which arrived in Kohl’s stores and Kohls.com on Thursday, was feted Wednesday night at a party at the Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar at the Mondrian SoHo in New York. Michelle Smith, designer of Milly, mixed and mingled with celebrities such as Olivia Palermo, Chanel Iman, Hannah Davis and Zosia Mamet, who sported various looks from the limited-edition collection. “I was inspired by my trip to Capri,” said Smith, who recalled that when she was approached by Kohl’s to do the collection, she was told she could select any destination she wanted and they would send her there. She called the collection “the epitome of La Dolce Vita.” There are vivid colors, prints, stripes, and florals, inspired by the Mediterranean views and the native bougainvillea flowers that grow all over the island. The 71-piece offering features flirty floral dresses, skirts, tops, tanks with sayings on them, and a few children’s pieces inspired by Milly Minis, Smith’s children’s line. It’s the first DesigNation to feature women’s and girl’s apparel. Among the highlights of the line are a floral midi scuba skirt ($50); striped fit and flare dress ($84); sheath scuba dress ($68), and the slubbed graphic tee

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French Bridal Label Turns to Crowdfunding

HAPPY BRIDES: Seeking to expand her 20-year-old business, French luxury bridal designer Célestina Agostino has turned to crowdfunding to raise capital. Agostino aims to be the first household name for French bridal gown designers. “There are no French designers who are known internationally in the world of wedding gowns,” said Agostino. “I would like Célestina Agostino to be equally as recognized as Vera Wang, because of my own style, of course.” The company has turned to crowdfunding in part because of the difficulty of obtaining funding from French banks, the designer said. Agostino, who has made more than 6,000 bridal gowns, is counting on the support of her customers. “I’m the person who tends to each client 100 percent. At other boutiques, it’s not like that. At Célestina Agostino, we’re like a family,” she said. Didier Bodart, the company’s chief executive officer, said customer loyalty was key. “We felt these brides would be very interested in the company’s future,” he explained. The investment project, which is accessible on French crowdfunding Web site bulbintown.com, sets a target of 600,000 euros, or $651,000, for a stake totaling 20 percent of the company’s equity. So far, it has garnered more than 250,000 euros, or $271,253,

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Hanesbrands Q1 Net and Sales Rise, Guidance Lifted

Hanesbrands Inc. registered increases in first-quarter sales and profits that narrowly missed analysts’ consensus estimates and raised its full-year guidance to reflect the acquisition of Knights Apparel completed earlier this month. In the three months ended April 4, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based innerwear and activewear maker posted net income of $52.6 million, or 13 cents a diluted share, 26.7 percent above the $41.6 million, or 10 cents, recorded during the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Adjusted EPS, excluding acquisition-related and other special items, was 22 cents a diluted share, 1 cent below the 23-cent consensus estimate. Revenues rose 14.1 percent, to $1.21 billion from $1.06 billion a year ago, falling slightly below the $1.23 billion expected, on average, by analysts. Stripping out $184 million in sales contributed by DBApparel, acquired last August, revenues would have declined 3.3 percent to $1.02 billion. Gross margin improved to 36.9 percent of sales from 33.7 percent a year ago. The purchase of DBApparel, which does the lion’s share of its business in Europe, transformed Hanesbrands’ international operations. Revenues more than doubled to $283.2 million from $110 million in last year’s quarter, prior to the closing of the acquisition, and operating profit in international nearly tripled, rising to $22.1 million

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Wet Seal Talks Turnaround Plan

LOS ANGELES — Wet Seal, fresh out of bankruptcy at the age of 53, won’t blame fast fashion for its demise in recent years as much as some like to say the segment killed teen retail. “We’ve competed with Forever 21 for several years,” said chief executive officer Ed Thomas. “They’re really good at what they do….I think our challenges in the last few years were more self-inflicted.” Thomas rejoined the retailer — for a third time — in September after the former company had already gone through an interim management team followed by two ceos and just about as many strategies for improving the business. But too many pivots resulted in losses and by the time Thomas returned, it was too late. RELATED STORY: Bill Langsdorf Named to Lead Former Wet Seal >> The company began exploring strategic alternatives and then shuttered some 338 stores. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and was acquired in an auction by private equity firm Versa Capital Management to emerge as Wet Seal LLC with 173 stores. The legacy company was renamed Seal 123 Inc. Steps taken to shore up operations prior to the bankruptcy “became part of a plan that was salable,” according to

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Consac Renews Call for Sale of Quiksilver

Activist investor Ryan Drexler of Consac LLC is making his third push for a sale of Quiksilver Inc. in less than seven months, and this time he’s offering names of potential buyers — Nike Inc. and VF Corp. Consac has increased its holdings in Quiksilver to more than 3.5 million shares, or about 2 percent of those outstanding, from more than 2 million when he first contacted the troubled Huntington Beach, Calif.-based skate- and surf-focused apparel and footwear firm to push for an exploration of a sale in October. But neither last month’s dismissal of Andy Mooney as chief executive officer nor founder Bob McKnight’s return to the firm as chairman have lessened his conviction that the company’s performance is a source of “continuing and profound disappointment” and that a sale process should be effected “before things get worse.” In his view, the situation has deteriorated, with first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization down 38.6 percent, a drop in the stock of 26 percent from a one-month high in March and, just prior to Mooney’s dismissal and McKnight’s return, the admission of a lack of internal controls that led to a “revenue cutoff” problem and the restatement of prior quarterly

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The Retail Impact of the Apple Watch

Retailers are ready for shoppers armed with Apple Watches. The first wave of consumers — the millions who made the preorder window — will start receiving their watches today. Everyone else will have to wait until June, when the smartwatch begins shipping in earnest and hits Apple stores. Merchants have been quick to develop apps for the watch, with Target, QVC, Etsy, Kohl’s, eBay and Asos all jumping in. The benefits could be huge if the smartwatch becomes a steady shopping companion. Analysts estimate that Apple could sell about 20 million Apple Watches this year. Prices start at $349 for sport models with aluminum casing and fluoroelastomer bands to $10,000 for 18-karat yellow or rose gold casings with leather bands and corresponding gold buckles and clasps. RELATED STORY: Fashion Retailers Get Behind Apple Watch >> While the experience is largely an extension of the smartwatch’s companion iPhone app (the majority of sales will still take place on the phone), the Apple Watch is the latest tool for merchants wanting to become omnichannel retailers. Kohl’s, for instance, has been developing its smartphone experience and driven more than 5.5 million downloads for its app since October, with many people using its proprietary mobile wallet feature that is home to

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​Lush Opens Its Largest Store on London’s Oxford Street

LONDON — Lush Cosmetics, the firm known for its handmade products that spotlight natural ingredients, on Thursday opened the doors to a sprawling, 9,500-square-foot space on London’s Oxford Street, its largest store globally. The three-story space is filled with Lush’s colorful product ranges, that span fizzing bath bombs to bar shampoos to Lush’s own fragrance line, called Gorilla perfume. There is also a Lush Spa with four treatment rooms in the store’s basement. Mark Constantine, cofounder and managing director of Lush, said at a launch breakfast for the store Thursday that while he had originally planned to focus on services in the store, such as grooming and hairdressing stations, he came to the conclusion that “people want stuff.” “Stuff is what you’ve got — we did 220 new products that aren’t available anywhere else, just for this store,” Constantine said. They include bath bombs in the shape of purple lotus flowers, a Life’s a Beach shower scrub and an Oxford Street soap. The firm has also introduced a new, three-hour treatment in the store’s spa, called The Planets, which combines massage, palm reading and a facial. A number of the exclusive products and treatments will launch at Lush stores globally over the next 18

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Gucci Turnaround Seen in Second Half

PARIS — Kering chairman and chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault confirmed Thursday that he expects a turnaround at Gucci in the second half of 2015, despite a disappointing first-quarter performance. “We will see already in the second half very noticeable signs of improvement in Gucci’s business,” Pinault told shareholders at the group’s annual general meeting. Kering earlier this week revealed Gucci’s comparable sales were down 7.9 percent in the first quarter as the company undertakes a turnaround under new ceo Marco Bizzarri and creative director Alessandro Michele. Overall, Kering reported sales rose 11.4 percent in the first quarter to 2.65 billion euros, or $2.99 billion, boosted by “massive” currency tailwinds. On a comparable basis, group sales were down 0.6 percent in the quarter. Stripping out the impact of exchange rate variations, as well as acquisitions and disposals, sales in the luxury division were down 2.6 percent. RELATED CONTENT: WWD Earnings Tracker >> Pinault said the maker of horsebit loafers and Jackie handbags needed to “catch its breath” after a lengthy growth period ran out of steam in 2012. He noted the impact of sales from Michele’s first collections should be felt in group results from November. The executive was also questioned about how Kering — whose

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Cammarata to Retire, Meyrowitz to Add Chairman Title at TJX

Bernard “Ben” Cammarata will retire as chairman of The TJX Cos. Inc. after nearly 40 years of service with the company. The retirement will be effective at the company’s annual meeting, scheduled for June 11, after which Carol Meyrowitz, TJX’s chief executive officer, is expected to be elected to add the chairman’s role to her duties. He will stay on in an advisory role as founder and executive adviser. Cammarata, 75, is virtually synonymous with the company, which has grown into the largest off-price retailer in the U.S. with substantial operations in Canada, a growing presence in Europe and $29.08 billion in 2014 revenues. Chairman of the company since 1999, Cammarata founded T.J. Maxx in 1976 and served as its president for 11 years before being named president and ceo of TJX, a position he held until 2000. He was acting ceo of the company between 2005 and 2007, when Meyrowitz assumed the position. Before acquiring Marshalls, T.J. Maxx’s archrival in the burgeoning U.S. off-price field, in 1995, the company bought Winners Apparel of Canada in 1990 and launched HomeGoods in the U.S. in 1992. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls together constitute The Marmaxx Group, which last year was responsible for $18.69 million in revenues, or

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Unifi Income Up 53% in Third Quarter

Driven by strong polyester yarn sales in North and Central America, Unifi Inc., the Greensboro, N.C.-based yarn spinner, reported net income increased 53 percent to $10 million, or 55 cents a share, in the third quarter ended March 29. The devaluation of the Brazilian real adversely affected net sales and was the principal driver of a 3.8 percent net sales decrease to $170.5 million in the quarter. Higher consolidated sales volumes, as well as higher margins in the Polyester and International Segments, helped yield the strong operating results for the quarter. RELATED CONTENT: WWD Earnings Tracker >> “Growth in textured polyester yarn in the NAFTA and CAFTA regions, along with greater demand for our premier value-added yarns in all regions, helped drive our strong operating results in the quarter and for the fiscal year to date,” said Roger Berrier, president and chief operating officer of Unifi. “We recently expanded the production capacity of our texturing operations, and based on the continued success and growth of Repreve, we will be expanding our Repreve Recycling Center and also installing a state-of-the-art plastic bottle processing facility over the next 12 to 15 months.” Unifi said textured polyester sales increased 7 percent. The company reported gross profit improved

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ZO Skin Health’s Antidiversion Strategy

Whether it’s on Amazon, eBay or a third-party Web site, diversion exists, but let’s face it, the beauty industry doesn’t really want to talk about it. But ZO Skin Health is one of the few exceptions addressing the issue so that its consumer has a good experience on all fronts. One unusual development is that the typical diverter of the Seventies and Eighties has been reincarnated into a new and unexpected persona — a doctor. “We want to have a lot of integrity,” said Jim Headley, chief executive officer of ZO Skin Health, who noted the products are exclusively sold in physician’s offices. “We don’t want to divert goods ourselves and it’s one of our key tenants on how we operate our company.” The company allocates around $400,000 for its antidiversion strategy and according to Headley that will likely continue. “We do daily moderating and we get results of who’s selling the product online,” said Whitney Gibson, ZO Skin Health’s lawyer, who added that they’ve caught physicians, employees of physicians and their family members selling items online. “Then, if we find anybody, we’ll send them a cease and desist letter. The minute they tell us the source of the product, we demand that they

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Eva Longoria Launches Bedding

EVA DOES BEDDING: Eva Longoria has teamed up with J.C. Penney to launch an exclusive new bedding collection in over 100 Penney’s stores and online starting today. Eva Longoria Home — the actress’ first home collection — offers a line of comforter sets, decorative pillows and window treatments in various prints and finishes. “Partnering with Eva Longoria is such a natural fit for J. C. Penney,” said Liz Sweeney, chief merchant for Penney’s. “She is known for her classic style and timeless beauty, and she has an approach to design that will resonate with our loyal customer base.” Prices range from $129.99 to $169.99 for a bedding set, which includes a comforter, two shams and a bed skirt. Coordinating decorative pillows are $34.99 to $39.99. Matching valancies and drapes are available at jcpenney.com. “Each bedding ensemble offers a unique aesthetic inspired by Moroccan lattice, the deep blue Mediterranean Sea, the serene lavender fields in Spain and ornate Moorish tiles that give any room a touch of worldly elegance,” said Longoria. “By drawing inspiration from these beautiful and exotic places, I can help others create a home that is stylish, yet casual and inviting.”

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Max Mara Kicks off Whitney Museum Celebrations

IN THE BAG: Max Mara kicked off its suite of parties to celebrate the new Whitney Museum building on Wednesday. The fete, held at The Top of the Standard, was thrown in honor of MaxMara’s pre-fall 2015 Whitney bag — which draws visual inspiration from the museum’s soon-to-open Renzo Piano structure in the Meatpacking District. The Whitney bag was displayed in a glass vitrine beside a diorama of the new Whitney building, exhibiting their likeness. Also befitting was the event’s sky-high location, overlooking the new museum, including its porch of multicolored block furniture — a design element that emerged as a critical darling in the structure’s initial reviews. “It’s a realization of a dream,” Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths said of the symbiosis at play. “If you look at the bag you can see that the principle element is the skin that wraps around it and how reflects the ribbed sections of the building,” Griffiths added. “In order to achieve that our craftspeople in Tuscany had to develop new techniques – really pushing the boundaries of what they do.” Nearby Max Mara chairman Luigi Maramotti expressed his excitement for the museum’s opening. “I’m convinced that the Whitney Museum, with this new location, is going to

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Ardency Inn Expands Internationally

Ardency Inn is headed down under. Starting May 5, the eclectic color cosmetics brand rooted in the downtown New York music scene will launch exclusively online in Australia and New Zealand at Mecca Cosmetica, the country’s largest independent beauty retailer. “We’ve seen a lot of interest for the brand coming from overseas markets, especially those with major music scenes,” said Gilles Kortzagadarian, cofounder and co-chief executive officer of Ardency Inn. “Our rationale is that a good time [to expand] is when the brand is in demand.” And expansion couldn’t have come at a better time. According to the company, its retail business is very strong with online sales three times higher than last year. “We’re still relatively small but growing very fast,” said Stephane Siboni, cofounder and co-ceo of Ardency Inn. Additionally, the U.K. has also expressed a lot of interest for the brand and the founders are evaluating those opportunities. “We know Ardency Inn already has a following in Australia so it’s a great opportunity for mecca.com.au to attract a new customer,” said Jo Horgan, founder of Mecca Brands. “This will also be the first time we’ve launched a brand that’s exclusive to our digital platform, so while Australia will be a first of

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Cellist Alisa Weilerstein Talks Travel and Her Repertoire

Alisa Weilerstein always knew that she wanted to be a cellist. For reasons she can’t explain, she was instantly attracted to the instrument as a small child. Her grandmother made her a series of instruments from cereal boxes when she had chicken pox; she was drawn to the Rice Krispies cello. She graduated to the real thing at the age of four. Music is the family business. Her parents are chamber artists; her father, Donald Weilerstein, was the founding first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet, while her mother, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, is a pianist who has played with her husband and daughter in the Weilerstein Trio. Both her parents are on the faculties of the New England Conservatory and Juilliard. Her younger brother, Joshua, is a violinist and conductor, and, as of August 2013, Alisa is married to a conductor, too – Rafael Payare from Venezuela. Today, Weilerstein will be performing at Carnegie Hall. She will play Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. The evening will also include Stravinsky’s “Symphonies of Wind Instruments” and Beethoven’s “Symphony #5.” Her schedule will take her to California, Boston, Spain and Germany in the next few weeks. The cellist

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