Things haven't been too good for Esprit. As we reported, earlier on this month stocks in the company plummeted by 22 per cent despite the fact that they had enlisted the help of Gisele to help with a big re-branding effort.
Since that didn't work, for their fall 2012 campaign they've decided to use Erin Wasson, who has fronted their campaigns before, on her own. In the shots the model appears sporting simple parkas and staple knits oozing the laid back, painstakingly cool aesthetic that she's become known for. If they're trying to appeal to a more fashion conscious customer, Wasson seems like the perfect choice. After all, look how well she did as the face of Zadig & Voltaire.
Last night Esprit hosted a party to launch their new store on London's Regent Street but despite the expansion effort, it looks like things aren't going particularly well for the retailer.
Last year they brought Gisele and Erin Wasson on board to front their campaigns as part of an effort to shake things up but according to reports out yesterday, it hasn't had the affect that they had intended. CEO Ronald Van der Vis resigned at the beginning of the week and was followed by chairman of the board Hans-Joachim Körber, who stepped down yesterday.
Both departures have 'caused the company's stocks to plummet 22 percent on the Hong Kong stock exchange not that they were doing swimmingly beforehand,' The Cut reports. Analysts told WWD that the company is underperforming despite the big turnaround plan making its future look bleak.
Antonio Berardi's S/S12 collection has dominated the red carpet over the past few months so with that in mind, it was business as usual over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival. Erin Wasson chose the light blue and red dress to attend the premiere of 'Amour' and teamed it with soft waves and a nude lip and jewelry from Chopard.
Erin Wasson isn't the only model turning her hand to designing. Yesterday contemporary French label Sandro unveiled these images from their collaboration with Dree Hemingway. "The inspiration was growing up in Idaho and men's rock climbing books from the '70s," Hemingway explained. The 10-piece collection, which includes printed maxii dresses and skinny jeans, will be available in stores and online in March.
Celebrity and model collaborations with brands are endless and commonplace but it's harder to count the number of projects that have been successful or well executed but Erin Wasson's partnership with Zadig & Voltaire just works. Her collections for the brand manages to stay true to their aesthetic whilst also including pieces that you would expect the model to 'actually' wear.
Ahead of the release of their latest collection on Net-A-Porter next month, they've released a preview of what we can expect. The collection features simple cream blouses, black suede cut off shorts and statement gld sequin jackets and leather vests with zip details.
Models like Kate MossandErin Wasson aren't the only runway-walkers to have their sights set on designing. Victoria's Secret model Lily Aldridge told Vegas magazine for its December/January 2011 issue that she, too, would like to use her creativity on a collection or two. She said: “I’d love to do a small collection as a sideline. Models have a really good sense of clothes; we spend so much time trying so many different things. And sometimes you wish you could design your own collection because you can’t find the stuff you want. So perhaps a small label just to start out; I love Erin Wasson’s stuff or what Kate Moss does for Topshop, so who knows!”
Although you've probably seen some of the leaked images for the 2011 Pirelli calendar, it was officially unveiled by Karl Lagerfeld yesterday in a press conference in Moscow.
The calendar - named "Mythology" - sees everyone from Julianne Moore to Erin Wasson appear scantily clad as Greek and Roman deities all shot in Lagerfeld's studio in Paris. When asked about his idea for the concept he said:
“I wanted to do something different. I looked at all the other calendars,” he said, adding that his had a message "of timeless beauty and youth.” ... Lagerfeld described himself, slightly tongue in cheek, as “the visual version of [ancient Greek writer] Homer. I did with my camera what he did with his pen, although we understand that he probably didn't use a pen.”
