Retail roundup: ‘Mad Men’ at Banana Republic; Aeropostale, H
-- Banana Republic will launch a third capsule collection inspired by the hit television show “Mad Men” in March.
The previous two collections, both popular among shoppers, were based on the early ‘60s “Camelot” era and crafted in collaboration with the show’s costume designer Janie Bryant. They featured the floral frocks, blouses with scarf details and slim-cut suits.
Now the collection will evolve with the show by transitioning into late-1960s mod fashions. Look for bold prints and colors, shift dresses with short hemlines and plaid sport coats.
“We took Janie’s mod inspiration for the costumes on-screen and translated it in a way that today’s Don or Megan will aspire to wear,” Simon Kneen, Banana Republic’s creative director, said in a statement.
--Teen retailer Aeropostale opened a high-tech store in Garden City, N.Y., that will be serve as a prototype for new shops and renovations in the future.
Features include iPods in fitting rooms so shoppers can try on clothes with the appropriate background music and iPads and desktops in the store to scan products and read reviews. iPads can also be used to build an outfit digitally to visualize how pieces would look all together.
“This is definitely our new store design,” Mary Jo Pile, Aeropostale’s executive vice president of customer engagement, told Women’s Wear Daily. “There probably will be elements we ramp up and others we edit” for future stores.
--H&M; is trying to make coordinating outfits for the whole family fashionable.
The fast fashion chain is launching a “Fashion Family” collection on Oct. 22. It includes skinny trousers and metallic minis for the moms and textured jackets and faux-fur vests for their daughters. Dad can pick through leather jackets and knit sweaters to match their sons in elbow-patch sweaters and matching sunglasses.
H&M; calls it “holiday dressing for the whole gang.”
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