WWDSTYLEJANUARY 19, 2011

The return ofsensible shoes

BY BRIDGET FOLEYSEE PAGE 6

Sense and (orthopedic)Sensibility

Tabloid Titan Enquiring minds want to

know: With Chapter 11 behind him, what’s next

for American Media’s David Pecker?

milan men’s2 WWDSTYLE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011

GIORGIO ARMANI: Giorgio Armani donned his gray-tinted glasses for a collection that offered myriad variations of the neutral color — and lots of textured weaves and glossy or matte fi nishes. The coats, long and short, formal and casual, were standouts, including a sweeping wool greatcoat that opened the show, long shearling aviator-inspired ones and others with hoods and toggles. Armani slicked a coat of silvery gloss onto puffer jackets, fashioned bomber jackets from crocodile and took the peacoat in a new direction, crafting it in lightweight wool, with patch pockets and a Nehru collar.

In a season of gentle tailoring, Armani was in his element, turning out soft silhouettes, some body conscious, others looser and more draped. Velvet found its way onto waistcoats that were layered underneath gray fl annel jackets and onto trousers and tracksuit bottoms. The velvet bottoms were paired with nubby, textured or plaid jackets in shades of pewter, gunmetal and ash. Armani’s soft-focus silhouettes also came from the jersey shirts or knitted waistcoats that were layered under velvet jackets and from the roomy, pleat-front trousers and shorter, boxy jackets that have been all the rage on the runways here. There were even some punches of color — in the form of tangerine or fuchsia fl y-front shirts — and a riot of choice here for fans of Armani’s soft, but sure, touch.

VERSACE: The house has been having a love affair with black leather for the past few seasons, and that fl ame is still burning brightly on Via Gesù. It was at the heart of this unapologetically hard-edged collection and came in the form of jackets and coats

In a season of short versus sharp, several designers played with volume, color and texture for a fresh take on masculinity.

MILANmen’s collections

fall 2011

Modern Milano

Giorgio Armani Versace

3WWDSTYLE Wednesday, january 19, 2011

made from woven or embroidered leather and trousers with a nubby texture or crinkled effect. Looks were often layered, with sleeveless leather vests and belts that wrapped more than once around the body. The textured theme spilled into knitwear, too, with three-dimensional cross patterns on turtlenecks and bumpy, bumblebee-shaped weaves on camel-colored sweaters. “It’s an elegant collection, with lots of layering and no casual looks — we’re not into that this season,” said Donatella Versace, who designs the collection with her wingman, Martyn Bal. “We’ve worked a lot with finishes and texture for a 3-D effect.” This finely tuned, sometimes difficult collection, will no doubt bring out the tough side of any man.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: Uniforms are neat, strict, clean, reassuring — and endlessly stylish. Creative director Sarah Burton gave them new verve in a sure-handed collection that spanned regimental and military dress through to Savile Row — with a few longshoremen and traveling salesmen between them. Beefy military greatcoats, some with dramatic shearling collars, had a spine-straightening dignity. Colors were mostly standard issue, with bold shots of red and amber. Trompe l’oeil photo prints and the odd slashed shoulder on a pin-striped frock coat added a frisson of McQueen perversity.

Z ZEGNA: Z Zegna explored a new masculinity in a utilitarian yet elegant collection that melded the future with tradition.

Oversize yet lightweight outerwear pieces in plongé leather — which resembled Neoprene — had cashmere linings. Digital technology was used to apply strips of sheer cashmere and felt onto sweaters, while creative director Alessandro Sartori took a playful turn, creating short overcoats that resembled the suit jacket. Meanwhile, Sartori steered away from the shrunken tailored look that has been flooding the runways of late, sending out suits that were boxy with soft edges.

D&G: D&G channeled the universe of Pharrell Williams, the music video genre and even the late Jean-Michel Basquiat, resulting in a youthful, commercial collection. Using skinny, low-crotch colored corduroys as the base, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana turned out “Happy Days”-era high school getups featuring leather jackets, preppy cardigans and baseball T-shirts mixed with hoodies, tweeds, capacious furs and brash Mickey Mouse- and Coca-Cola-splashed garb.

NEIL BARRETT: Neil Barrett unveiled an intriguing array of proportions influenced by scuba diving and the marine world. Neoprene long johns were paired with double-collared peacoats or dip-dyed knitted bomber jackets, and thick-soled boots. Sailor-style loose flannel pants guided the nautical mood into calmer commercial waters, as did eye-catching, sailor-style stripy knits and ice white parkas. A selection of women’s fall looks mirrored the scuba theme with stretchy minidresses and sharp, bonded separates.

Alexander McQueen

Z Zegna D&G

Neil Barrett

For more Men’s COVeRAGe, see

WWD.com/MENswEAR-NEws.

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milan men’s4 WWDSTYLE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011

MILANmen’s collections

fall 2011

DSQUARED2: Set against a craggy mountain scene, Dsquared2 explored a theme they dubbed “Brokeback Mormon.” Despite the promising pun, the show felt kind of one note. Rugged-chic combinations included low-slung distressed jeans, denim jackets, and metal-studded belts mixed with dress shirts and dapper waistcoats reminiscent of 19th-century American preachers. Silhouettes were long, lean, and layered. Horn-rimmed specs, cowboy gloves, aprons and on-trend, round hats completed the look. COSTUME NATIONAL: In the name of “Rebel Tailoring,” Ennio Capasa ditched the shirt and tie for cool Mod-fl avored mohair sweaters, worn under

slim rock ’n’ roll suits with Chelsea boots. He fused quilted leather biker sleeves onto blazers and fl ipped the trenchcoat to reveal its inner workings. The collection felt sleek and youthful with some great fabric fusions, from frosted nylons to washed leathers, though it was well shy of revolutionary. PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND: “An urban gamekeeper” was how creative director Clare Waight Keller described the collection’s fall look that combined brand authenticity with an obvious new modernity, visible in the fi rm’s signature knitwear, which was transformed into hooded parkas and biker jackets. Meanwhile, classic shooting jacket details found their way onto clean silhouettes.

Dsquared2 Costume National

Pringle of Scotland

Umit Benan: Investment banker types straight out of the Eighties fi lm “Wall Street” and Brett Easton Ellis’ corporate antihero Patrick Bateman were the touchstone for Umit Benan’s witty and wearable fall collection. The narcissistic cast — preening and swigging whisky during this evocative presentation at the Baglioni Hotel bar — sported natty houndstooth shirts with oversize pockets, wool overcoats and fi ne checkered suits. Benan continues to burnish his rising star.

IN THE SHOWROOMS

Marc Jacobs: Old-school themes in men’s wear – military, equestrian, British aristocracy – are invading hipster turf. Inspired by late British author and war hero Michael Burn, the New York designer mined the Forties, creating a quiet, classic collection with period touches and details. Fur-collared coats in fatigue shades were standouts. Two-button suits had more pronounced shoulders and roomier pants. Intentionally pilled cashmere sweaters and prints by New York graffiti artist Bast added some downtown quirk. Gianfranco Ferré: Designers Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi gave their scissors a workout with this snazzy, sharply tailored collection filled with Prince of Wales and hounds tooth checks, and chalk and pinstripe fabrics. Long double-breasted overcoats – in velvet or cashmere – were standouts. However, the pinstripe suits in forest green or maroon were far more suited to the cast of “Guys and Dolls” than to Ferré’s contemporary city slickers. Ditto for the leather car coats – in deep green or midnight blue – which were molto “Starsky & Hutch.” Diesel Black Gold: Designer Roberto Lorenzi combined a tailored, military streak, as in the sturdy coats at times trimmed with fur, with faded or pinstriped denim pants and striped or polka-dot shirts in tune with the brand’s rock heritage. Marni: Looking to expand its customer base, Marni introduced in-house denim pieces, such as a boxy, deconstructed jacket. In tune with an overall utilitarian mood, the collection featured onesie suits, mixed media jackets, sturdy corduroy pants and zipped-up shirts with a graphic dot pattern, all in a muted color palette with shots of flame red or bright orange. Bally: British designers Graeme Fidler and Michael Herz have heard the siren call – some would say yodel – of Switzerland, creating a rugged collection inspired by the forests, lakes and mountains of Bally’s home. “What we set out to do is make a masculine, honest, hard-wearing collection inspired by the natural beauty,” said Herz. Their impressive debut featured mountaineering-inspired lace-up boots, sturdy felted wool sweaters, and wool coats with a detachable rabbit fur lining and a nylon outer face. Nicole Farhi: In his first collection for the label, Massimo Nicosia took some of Nicole Farhi’s signatures – linen, soft tailoring, and knitwear – in a fresh direction, combining

them with harder-edged fabrics and finishes for the cold winter months. In his quest to transform knitwear into outerwear, Nicosia coated linen sweaters with bonded jersey and paired shirt weight linens with felt for jackets. “I wanted to give the linen some body, and keep the silhouettes from being too slouchy,” said Nicosia during a walk-through. He gave wool a weather-proof finish, too, fitting coats with lightweight, detachable nylon shells and mixed tweed with linen to give jackets extra heft and protection. Aquascutum: Joanna Sykes’ first collection as design director introduced a more directional edge into the label’s Limited line: leanly tailored suits with structured shoulders and wider lapels. “We’ve given suiting a British feel,” said Sykes, who employed Savile Row techniques. For the brand’s London collection, knitwear and performance categories have been expanded. Standout pieces included heavy gauge salt-and pepper sweaters, double-layer jackets with waterproof shells and jersey separates with a tweedlike appearance.

5WWDSTYLE Wednesday, january 19, 2011

Inspired by the stylish London man, Jimmy Choo’s debut men’s footwear col-lection features classic styles, with a dash of luxe and glamour. All the mod-

els — from Chelsea boots to loafers to the classic monk-strap shoe with English pewter buckle – are fully lined in leather; sneakers are

fashioned from cashmere flannel; distressed biker boots have shearling on the inside, while the Wellington boots — a collabora-tion with Hunter — come embossed with a crocodile pattern. There

is even a signature “Porno Paisley” slipper, with silhouettes of undulat-ing ladies, à la James Bond, and black lacquered soles. “It’s a stand-alone collection for the man who’s on the arm of a Jimmy Choo woman,” said Joshua Schulman, the company’s chief executive officer. Prices range from $595 to $1,095, and the line will launch with wholesale distribution, on-line at jimmychoo.com and with one-off projects such as pop-up shops. Schulman said the aim is to build credibility in men’s footwear, alongside the more established brands.

The New TraditionalistsItalIan accessorIes brands paid homage to tradition and artisanal craftsmanship, while managing to push the boundaries with innovative techniques, touches of color — from red to purple — and quirky combinations of materials and hides.

“We are specialists in the treatment of leather,” remarked Diego Della Valle, tod’s chairman and chief executive officer, highlighting the company’s distinctive feature. and from this axiom, tod’s reworked its timeless Winter Gommino in supple variations of brushed suede and vintage calfskin or ponyskin in sand, stone, honey and chocolate hues. In tune with a more formal trend, the brand showed a black patent loafer with a wedged rubber sole in lace-up and slip-on versions. IPad cases in a range of hides, including crocodile and python, and luxurious shearling jackets also were hits among the functional range of products.

elsewhere in the tod’s stable, Hogan’s collection was dubbed “Future roots,” and was just that: a combination of traditional and artisan treatments and high-tech innovation, said group vice president andrea Della Valle.

the brand, controlled by tod’s spa, showed sneakers crafted using a technique where the leather that makes up the upper is lined on the reverse side then turned inside out and hammered out hiding the stitching. “It’s informal and modern, clean and essential, in sync with Hogan’s urban-chic tradition,” said Della Valle.

at sergio rossi, creative director Francesco russo played off the house’s tradition, while selectively adding more contemporary touches. Mixed-media pieces, as in the oxfords with camouflage-printed pony inserts were standouts, as were the gold-coated calfskin moccasins.

leather oxfords also were closed with hooks borrowed from trekking gear, showing an unusual rubber quarter stiffener. and shearling-lined classic suede booties were accented with hand-stitched toecaps.

Valextra introduced its calfskin cover for BlackBerry’s PlayBook in colors such as smoky london gray, royal blue, ocher and the brand’s signature pergamena white. “this is a practical object, yet it’s

luxurious, high quality and stylish,” said chairman and ceo emanuele carminati Molina. “Here is a synergy between two brands that share the same vision and combine functionality and creativity.”

Sole ManTod’s

Hogan

Sergio Rossi

Valextra

Marni

Bally

Marc Jacobs

Diesel Black Gold

Nicole Farhi Aquascutum

Gianfranco Ferré

For more MEN’S COVERAGE, SEE

WWD.com/MENSWEAR-NEWS.

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When Alber elbaz fa-mously delayed the start of his spring show for lanvin so that models who struggled through the rehearsal could switch from dangerously high metal stilettos into flats, he elevated his already lofty pro-real-woman image to cult status. Toss off those heels, ladies! be who you are! be comfortable in your fashion skin — and in your shoes!

The critics, this one in-cluded, swooned; one abso-lutely buys into the convic-tion of elbaz’s last-minute decision. That said, his daz-

zling flat sandals, shiny and bejeweled, were part of a major runway trend toward, dare we say it, sensible shoes. Yes sensible shoes, a phrase that has long sent shudders down the hyper-bony backs of fashion’s most outré consumers.

It’s likely that, when the runway-editorial penchant for major shoes started years ago, many people thought

that was just where it would stay, on the runway and in pushed maga-zine stories. Few could have imag-ined how literally it would be em-braced by edgy fashion customers, nor how long the fascination would last. To wit, given a few pretty run-way shoe sightings, a feature in the March 2007 issue of W magazine wondered whether major shoes, call them what you will — sculp-tural, statement, aggressive — were on the way out. Time has delivered a very clear quite-the-opposite. And as shoes have gotten higher, bolder, sexier, more sculp-tural, more aggressive, so, too, have the personal styles of the women who wear them.

now, suddenly, with spring shoes hitting the selling floor, a far more moderate look is in play. no, make that a more manageable look, podiatrically speaking, as spring shoe offerings indicate just how far flung “sen-sible” can be. right now at Saks Fifth Avenue, bergdorf Goodman and barneys in new York, the residuals of the fall sales detract attention from the resort bounty, filled with appealing espadrilles, platforms and flat sandals of the sort that will carry into spring.

Which from a fashion perspective, are not the dubi-ous side of sensible. Flat sandals swing from Talitha Getty boho to fashionably (which is to say faux) earthy. They’ve been around awhile and fashionista types consider them de rigueur for their off-duty lives and even for those hot summer not-much-going-on days at work. Similarly, spring’s chic clunkers from Prada

and balenciaga ape major orthopedic footwear while screaming fashion bravado.

It’s in the middle where things get dicey. All things in moderation? not so when it comes to fashion. Time was when extremes on the runway were reimagined into more manageable commercial fare. but today’s uberfashion customer — though a small part the lux-ury-buying universe, she’s essential and influential — has become accustomed to working extreme fash-ion, especially when it comes to her shoes. even the chicest of moderation may prove not her cup of tea.

A key question is whether fashion-loving women of immoderate personal styles will fancy toned-down footwear. not the acceptable, $500 ballet flat that has become the fashion girl’s errand-running shoe of choice, but shoes of moderate, is-it-fashion-or-do-her-feet-hurt heft, and runway takes on pretty clas-sics, such as those raf Simons showed at Jil Sander. I posed the question to three women in the industry, one each from the essential troika of high fashion de-sign, retail and editorial: Alexander McQueen’s Sarah burton, bergdorf Goodman’s linda Fargo and elle’s Kate lanphear.

The sartorial middle ground is not the McQueen woman’s way, according to burton. “A McQueen woman

is such a powerful woman. [A heel] gives her elegance; it gives her poise,” she said. “The on-the-runway aes-thetic, from the McQueen point, is it’s always very much about a woman, not really a girl,” said burton. “She is strong; she has a waist and she has a shoulder…when you put a jacket on, you can feel its character; it has a feeling of strength. The same way, when you put a heel on, you feel more powerful. You have a height and you have a presence. The McQueen woman challenges her-self and wants to feel sexy and incredible.”

She also has the practical need for a great pair of flats, which burton loves and wears daily to work. She noted an industrial-strength low-heeled boot with chain detail from the pre-fall collection she previewed on Tuesday. “That’s the McQueen woman. She’s either very high or she’s flat, but she’s not in between.”

Midheight shoes present a particular design chal-lenge, burton offered: getting the proportion to look good in front, but she is compelled to satisfy the needs

of specialty retailers, particularly in the U.S. “A woman who goes into a McQueen shop, I don’t think she’s a midheight customer. You walk in to buy an amazing tai-lored jacket or a fur coat or a beautiful evening gown, you’re not going to say, ‘Where’s my comfy shoe?’ ”

Fargo will tell you that, while the most advanced bergdorf ’s customer may not worry about such things, legions of shoppers do. “I’ve been kind of waiting for this moment,” she said of the spring runway season. “We had towering statement shoes and we had flats.” She noted that, “the core fashion people” for shoes — Manolo blahnik, Christian louboutin, Chanel — “have never turned their backs on that, and it shows in their business.”

Still, Fargo acknowledged that satisfying those customers on fashion’s all-important edge is essen-tial. She said that, even predating spring, there have been impressive sensible options from Givenchy (“those great sandal-shoe booties”), YSl (the Tribute), louboutin (wedges), Chloé (ballet flats) and lanvin (“not just one shoe”). In general she loves platforms and wedges, because “You get [the height] with a more reasonable incline.”

It’s important that such manageable shoes wrap their comfort in a whole lot of style. “I’m really looking for fashion at these middle, manageable heel heights.

I don’t want it to start getting skewed to dowdy and plain,” added Fargo

hence the cre-ative challenge, as Moderation Avenue

is where Dowdy and Plain often reside. Often, but not always. (hello, geek chic and heyday of minimalism). lanphear’s personal taste in footwear — “the higher the better” — is as nontemperate as it gets. Yet she feels invigorated by the emer-gence of a new proportion. “It’s nice when you see something you really couldn’t pre-dict come down the runway,” she said.

As an editor, she finds directions an-tithetical to her own style and exciting.

“I obviously reject a lot of fashion personally. That’s anything with a bow, if you know what I mean. but in a way it’s interesting to have something that’s a huge trend that you might not embrace personally because you’re really forced to think about how, realistically, someone might wear it.”

lanphear invoked the age-old, rock-solid notion that it takes time for the eye to adjust, even if in the past said adjustment was more often to, rather than away from, extremes. “Fashion is like this lovely ex-periment.…[Shoes] might change long-term. Or just for a little while — to get a little relief from the podia-trists’ office.”

Along the way, giving those who lack the graceful gene (I know all about that malady) a chance to feel on-trend. Said Fargo, “even though the line may be sexy, there’s nothing really sexy about someone strug-gling in her shoes. I don’t care whether it’s the runway or the sidewalk.”

A key question is whether fashion-loving women of immoderate

personal styles will fancy toned-down footwear.

fashion6 WWDSTYLE Wednesday, january 19, 2011

Bridget Foley’s Diary

Thinking On Your Feet

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7WWDSTYLE Wednesday, january 19, 2011

dallas preview

Contemporary Push in Dallas By Holly Haber

buyers will find five new contemporary and accessories show-rooms and a bigger selection of junior contemporary clothes at FashionCenterDallas when it hosts a spring and summer mar-ket, Jan. 27 to 30, at the World Trade Center.

“our contemporary neighborhood is 98 percent leased,” noted Stephanie Cole, vice president of apparel leasing at the Dallas Market Center Co., which operates the venue. “and young contemporary temporary exhibits have expanded more than 30 percent compared to 2009, and we don’t see that slowing down.”

Further, Cole hopes to attract additional bridge resources with a new shared showroom called Salon that will open in March. located on the 15th floor near the rear skylights, it is designed to house six collections.

Tops, dresses, margin builders and brands that don’t wind up at discounters will continue to be priorities for retailers, pre-dicted sales agents. They expect business to focus on deliver-ies from February through May, though some showrooms will be ready for fall.

“The January show should be good,” said bill Guice, who owns the Tableau accessories showroom. “People were very conservative last fall, and their stock levels should be low, and they have to refill the wagons.”

Seven Threads showroom will make its debut in room 15014 in the contemporary area known as District 15. Veteran sales rep Terry Harner founded the company with her daughter, Kaleigh bergstrom, and longtime employee Christina runnels. Harner left the showroom she started with her husband, Scott Harner & associates.

“We were together doing business for 28 years,” said Terry Harner, explaining that the couple is getting divorced. “but I love this business too much to let it go, so that’s why I started my own showroom.”

Harner will show big Star premium denim for men and women, which had been at Scott Harner. She’s also introduc-ing two T-shirt lines by evelyn riddle, the former designer of Skinny Minnie tops: libertalia has a contemporary vibe and wholesales from $7 to $12; Gypsy Daisy is the same price but has a younger look. Seven Threads will also represent Willow Creek Designs Jewelry, a sterling collection with inspirational and faith-based inscriptions.

New to the 15th floor atrium is the Pam Martin & Co. show-room, which moved from Fashion Industry Gallery. Martin said she couldn’t resist the glass-walled corner room 15256 because of its prime location and layout. It was previously leased to leon Max, which closed its Dallas office.

Martin has long represented tops and dresses by bordeaux, Creme Fraiche, Weston Wear, Zola, Central Park West and Shae, plus Isabella Fiore handbags. Next week she’ll also introduce edgy knit tops wholesaling from $30 to $45 by Pete.

“a lot of people need to fill in spring, and the fourth quarter was better than they thought it was going to be,” she observed. “right now my stores are buying tops 9-to-1 over bottoms.”

other District 15 showrooms will sport renovations, including The block, leon & associates and Samax Inc.

on the 13th floor, Jayden Star accessories from New york will introduce upscale fashion jewelry collections in room 13564, formerly occupied by The Silver Tribe, which is moving to a big-ger space. Jayden Star represents seven lines from Italy, includ-ing 1ar by Unoaerre, Giorgio Martello, rena luxx, Madame Mystique, Margherita buonanno and I. bijoux Di Simonetta, plus anat Collection Israel.

Meanwhile, The Silver Tribe, owned by Jayshree Dalal, has expanded into the atrium space 13682 previously held by Kathy Flahavin & associates, which closed after many years in busi-ness. Dalal has an established clientele for antique Indian fine jewelry with royal and tribal provenances. She also offers con-temporary pieces inspired by Indian artistry and crafted in sil-ver with semiprecious stones.

Total Design Jewelry by Jeff lieb, a sculptural collection, has leased showroom 13892. lieb’s lightweight, curlicue pieces are made of a lead-free aluminum and resin that he developed. lieb is based in Highland Park, Ill.

Plenty of sparkle is in store at Crystals on Fire in 13810, a local manufacturer that styles crystal and semiprecious jewelry, plus pavé crystal shoes and cell phone cases. Designed by Stephanie berman, the two-year-old company is based in nearby Plano, Texas, where it has a store at the Shops at Willow bend mall.

another growing accessories business is Seasonal Whispers, a New york-based company that more than doubled its showroom space to 1,700 square feet on the atrium in room 13727. Seasonal Whispers offers an extensive line of trendy crystal, pearl and chain fashion jewelry and hair accessories. esther lixenberg and yafit Goldfarb, the mother-daughter team behind the brand, will share the space with handbags and accessories by leaders in leather.

The Scene’s temporary show on the 13th floor will showcase Mitta by Vicki audette, a trendy line of fingerless gloves made of repurposed sweaters and fabrics so that each pair is unique. In addition, Virgins, Saints, & angels jewelry inspired by religious icons will show for the first time at Scene.

“I am trying to focus on customer service and the best way to see as many of our existing clients as we can,” said Cheryl Finnegan, designer.

DallaS — as Super bowl XlV mania envelops Dallas in anticipa-tion of the Feb. 6 game, local fash-ion designer abi Ferrin has scored with off the Field, a nonprofit as-sociation of NFl players’ wives.

Ferrin’s draped contempo-rary dresses and sportswear will be featured in the group’s Feb. 4 luncheon fashion show at the Fairmont Hotel benefit-ing St. Jude Children’s research Hospital. NFl wives will model in the 10th annual runway show before an audience of 600 NFl current and retired players, their wives and other supporters.

Pat Smith, wife of NFl Hall of Famer and former Dallas Cowboy emmitt Smith, plans to emcee the show in a long green Ferrin dress. “abi exemplifies what the organization is about, which is supporting the community and helping others,” she said.

Ferrin’s tagline is “Fashion with Freedom and Purpose,” and each of her pieces has an element made by women rescued from the sex trade in Cambodia and Nepal. Ferrin also employs the women to make fabric clutches. Some of them will model at the lunch.

Many of Ferrin’s silk or matte jersey designs can be worn mul-tiple ways. They retail from $150 to $750. Nordstrom at NorthPark Center will introduce a dozen Ferrin looks this month, includ-ing a signature jersey dress that can be worn five ways and a hal-ter top in the team colors of the Super bowl contenders.

“I created a logistical night-mare for myself,” Ferrin admit-ted. “I won’t know the team col-ors until the 23rd, and they need to be in-store by the 28th, so I’m going to do the final four [teams] and ship the final two.”

— H.H.

The Big Game

Fashion industry Gallery 1807 Ross Avenue, Dallas summer MarketJan. 27 to 29 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily By appointment, Jan. 26 and 30. Cocktail party: Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m., lobby. new showrooms: Modital Bijoux fashion jewelry and watches, Gallery 158, and Studio Two Clothing, Gallery 126

A dress by Abi Ferrin, featured designer at the Off the Field fashion show.

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Red Haute at Pam Martin.

Libertalia at Seven Threads.Libertalia at Seven Threads.

Bordeaux at Pam Martin.

By AMY WICKS

nthrax. Bankruptcy. Scandal. One of those alone would be enough to ruin the career of any media honcho.

Then there’s David Pecker.The chairman, chief executive of-

fi cer — and perennial cheerleader — of American Media Inc. has sur-vived all of those and more in his 12 years at the company notorious for its tabloids (Star, the National

Enquirer); fi tness magazines (Shape and Flex), and Web sites (Radar). And now, only 32 days after exit-ing a bankruptcy that saw investors lose millions, the charismatic, brash Pecker says he has $50 million in free cash fl ow and he’s primed for acquisitions.

Before you laugh, remember that Pecker was one of two bidders left in the chase for Newsweek — eventually losing out to Sidney Harman, who bought it for $1 and the assumption of debt.

It’s perhaps only one sign that a ceo who seems to have more staying power than those perennial “Martians in Brooklyn” headlines, is again on the upswing. AMI has new revenue streams (it manages Playboy’s advertising, circulation and distribution, and Pecker is making more deals with similar-size magazines) and digital growth. The company is making $3 million a year in digital, thanks to advertising and custom digital magazines. “Are the other competitors doing that yet?” Pecker wondered. “I don’t think so.”

A smooth-talking salesman who has never let go of his trademark Tom Selleck mustache, Pecker runs a lean, entrepreneurial-style business that at times has

employees doing the work of three to four people (a model in this newly lean era of publishing that other fi rms are rapidly adopting).

“We don’t have a huge reporting structure or levels of management,” Pecker said in an interview at AMI’s cramped offi ces on 33rd and Park Avenue in Manhattan (although it soon will be moving to 4 New York Plaza downtown, where the rent is presumably even cheap-er). “We encourage accountability and aggressive re-porting, and if you make a mistake, that’s OK.”

Those who work with Pecker say this is true, but add that his word is the fi rst and last at meetings, and colleagues aren’t encouraged to disagree with his opin-ions. “There’s a lot of autonomy. If you succeed, you get credit; if you fail, it can get ugly,” noted one source.

Case in point: Pecker put tremendous trust in Enquirer executive editor Barry Levine. Levine spent nine months reporting on the Tefl on-coated presidential candidate John Edwards, who the Enquirer reported had an extended affair with Rielle Hunter, a fi lmmaker who covered his campaign. AMI’s chief invested a solid “six-fi gures,” with reporting teams all over the country, even as the mainstream media wouldn’t touch the story and dismissed it. But the Enquirer was right, and Levine was heralded. The result was, for a moment, national recognition, respectability for the supermarket tabloid and a chance at a Pulitzer Prize (the stars weren’t that out of alignment — it didn’t win). “We were recognized at the highest level, and it meant a lot,” said Pecker.

He said this is the kind of story he would have put in Newsweek had he acquired it, although he is David Pecker, so would have covered it in a different way. Last summer, the newsweekly considered two offers, one from AMI and the other from Harman. “We didn’t

get it [Newsweek] because we wanted to move the magazine to Boca,” said Pecker. “Also, they didn’t like being associated with the National Enquirer. But it would have added something to the magazine. They could have put a spin on politics, entertainment, busi-ness, made it more tongue-in-cheek.”

And maybe been able to spread the costs. Harman, of course, is now in the midst of doing a deal with Barry Diller and Tina Brown to combine Newsweek with The Daily Beast — a combination of two money-losing prop-erties with the hope they can become profi table.

Pecker still has his eye on a few print prospects, revealing he’d love to acquire Maxim at some point. “It would be the perfect complement to what we al-ready do,” he said.

Which, in addition to AMI’s tabloids, now involves Playboy. A year ago, Playboy’s ceo, Scott Flanders, asked Pecker to run that title’s advertising, circula-tion and distribution operations. Pecker’s company sells ads for the magazine, playboy.com and thesmok-ingjacket.com. “We have 35 proposals out and expect to announce two more magazines, the size of Playboy, in mid-February,” he said.

AMI was up 9.3 percent in ad pages for the second half of 2010, according to the Publishers Information Bureau (the company has 15 magazines and gossip Web site Radar). The fi rm isn’t part of the Next Issue Consortium looking at digital platforms (AMI wasn’t in-vited to participate), but he said it makes no difference. This year, he’s adding e-commerce stores for Muscle & Fitness, Flex and Men’s Fitness, and later on will intro-duce online stores for Shape and Fit Pregnancy.

Always the booster, Pecker is all smiles and pres-ents a charming pitch for his company. But some inside the halls of AMI aren’t buying it. They insist morale has taken a hit since the bankruptcy and wonder why management wasn’t more forthright about the manda-tory three-day furloughs that followed. Three people were also fi red from the Los Angeles bureau, and some employees were riled by the big payments AMI’s share-holders approved for top executives, post bankruptcy.

“There hasn’t been a revolt or anything near what’s been out there,” Pecker insisted.

Last week, Gawker solicited comment on morale and received several letters from editors praising Pecker. He maintains that he never asked his editors to do this.

“I really don’t understand where it comes from,” said Shape editor in chief, Tara Kraft, who has been with the company since 2003. “This is the longest time I’ve ever spent at one corporation. When I was just a beauty director at Star, he would have lunch with me and ask what I wanted to do next. I don’t think that would happen at another company.”

Star’s editor in chief, Candace Trunzo, seemed to agree. “He’s very accessible, and if you want a de-cision from him, he will make it very quickly. He’s tough, but he’s totally loyal.”

Then there was the fl ip side: several former em-ployees contacted by WWD declined to comment, some expressing fear of repercussions.

Not that any of it phases Pecker. At 59 years old, he has outlasted almost every other media ceo on the scene when he took over at AMI in 1999. And he doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon.

“I’m the chairman of the tabloids,” he said. “You giveth and taketh. Believe me, I understand that.”

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Two of American Media’s titles.

David Pecker: Chairman of the Tabloids

get it [Newsweek]

to move the magazine to Boca,” said Pecker. “Also, they didn’t like

Media’s titles.

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