Cherokee Licenses U.K.’s Sports Direct for Tony Hawk

Cherokee Inc. has licensed Sports Direct International plc to market Tony Hawk apparel and accessories for men and kids in Sports Direct’s stores in the U.K. and Europe and on its Web site beginning in the fall. Based in Shirebrook, England, Sports Direct, among the largest sports apparel and footwear retailers in Europe, operates 400 stores in the U.K. and another 270 units in markets throughout Europe, including in Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Portugal and France. Cherokee acquired the Tony Hawk and Hawk apparel brands from Quiksilver Inc. for $19 million in cash in January 2014. Cherokee has a direct-to-retail license with Kohl’s Corp., but this is its first arrangement outside of North America. “We’re actively working to make sure this is the first of many,” Henry Stupp, chief executive officer of Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Cherokee, told WWD. “From the time we acquired Tony Hawk,” Stupp added, “we developed a list of our most desired retail partners, and with the addition of Sports Direct to our partnership base, we have now achieved one more international expansion goal.” Hawk, the top-ranked vertical ramp skateboarder in the world between 1984 and 1996, is the featured character in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise with Activision that has generated

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Speaking Out at Jeffrey Fashion Cares

SPEAKING OUT: In recent weeks, a backlash has been growing around a pair of so-called “religious freedom” laws in Indiana and Arkansas that critics describe as homophobic. The fashion industry joined in the dissent on Monday night. At the annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares event and auction in New York, the actor Zachary Quinto criticized the laws and drew loud cheers from a crowd that included designers like Joseph Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung and Narciso Rodriguez. “We live in a time where our fellow citizens are crowd-sourcing money to monetize bigotry and hatred in the face of all the progress we’ve made,” the actor said. “And so it is our responsibility to stand up, to unify, and monetize our agenda, which is to be counted and to be respected.” Over the last 12 years, the event, founded by Jeffrey Kalinsky, has become a tradition, known both as an earnest opportunity for the industry to raise money for a number of charitable organizations that focus on gay and lesbian causes and AIDS research – The Hetrick-Martin Institute, ACRIA and Lambda Legal – and also for the skimpy fashion show that follows the annual auction. A parade of shirtless male models like Brian Shimansky and

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