Armani Times 3
Giorgio Armani plans to open three free-standing A/X: Armani Exchange shops in the Southland. To refresh your memory, this is the cheap stuff by Armani standards: Everything is supposed to be priced under $100. According to a company spokesperson, one store will open on Main Street in Santa Monica in mid-March. Two in-store shops are also on the ribbon-cutting docket: One opens this spring at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills and the other is pending for Bullock’s Men’s Store in South Coast Plaza.
THIERRY EYED: One of Paris’ great spectacles will not take place this spring. Thierry Mugler, in town last week, says he has canceled the preview of his fall line because he needs to conserve his energies for his April 23 extravaganza for the California Fashion Friends of AIDS Project Los Angeles. He promises a load of stars, the ’92 fall collection, portions of his spring and summer collection, and some of his all-time greatest fashion hits. When Rose Marie Bravo, CEO of I. Magnin and this year’s industry chairperson, heard Mugler’s plans, she began negotiations to debut Mugler’s fall collection in the windows of the Beverly Hills I. Magnin store. For tickets to the show, call (310) 392-9894.
HOUND DOG DESIGN: Most fashion designers do not seek canine references for their clothing. Not so Parisian Laetitia Scherrer, who plans to launch Laetitia pour Tasha in June. Tasha is her late, lamented greyhound. Laetitia wanted to be a veterinarian, but her father, couturier Jean-Louis Scherrer, pressed her into service as his house model. “I just sort of fell into fashion,” she says. “Now I love it, and that’s why I want to mix fashion with my love for animals.” Her 60-piece collection of affordable clothing is in need of financial backing and a manufacturer. Should she get it produced, she plans to donate 30% of her markup for the creation of an animal refuge.
STOCKING UP: Has your checking account ever gagged on the price of pantyhose? The next time you hesitate over a pair of Donna Karan’s high-end hosiery, consider this: Louis Dell’Olio has designed pantyhose for the new Anne Klein Collections Hosiery that carry a price tag of $425. The reason the sandal-foot, control-top style is so pricey is the tiny crystals that cover each leg. A less extravagant pair of Dell’Olio’s in French lace goes for $250. Both styles are available at Neiman Marcus.
MOUNTAIN HIGH TICKET: A new look at the numbers by the National Sporting Goods Assn. reveals that Alpine skiers spend more on clothing than participants in 26 other sports. In 1990, an estimated 11.4 million U.S. downhill skiers spent a yearly average of $117 on ski clothing. Cross-country skiers spent an average of $40, while golfers shelled out $55. Aerobics enthusiasts got by with the least amount of outlay: They spent an average of $36.
CURLING IRONS IN THE FIRE: A business deal between an American hair salon owner and a Moscow entrepreneur has led to an unusual cultural exchange: hairdos for art works. Timur Umerov brought contemporary art to Minneapolis in November with his Umerov Gallery, one of the first Russian-owned art galleries in this country. And this year, with Umerov’s help, Minneapolis-based hair salon franchiser Joe Francis, a 20% partner in the gallery, plans to open one of his City Looks hair salons in Moscow. It’s being billed as the first American hair salon in that vast expanse once thought of as the Soviet Union.
