Zambernardi Said Exiting, Yohji’s New Concept, ABG Closes a Deal – WWD

ZAMBERNARDI EXITING?: After more than four decades working closely with Miuccia Prada, Fabio Zambernardi will exit the Prada Group, according to market sources.

The parting is said to be amicable and Zambernardi is expected to leave his role as Prada and Miu Miu design director in October following the spring 2024 collections for both brands.

The Prada Group did not comment.

Zambernardi, 59, was named to his current role in November 2002 for all divisions ranging from ready-to-wear to footwear and accessories.

He has been collaborating with the brand since 1981. He was promoted to shoe design director in 1997 and design fashion coordinator in 1999.

While known to keep a low profile, Zambernardi is very much respected in fashion circles and is considered influential within the company. He also worked with Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli, group chairman and executive director, on the development of image strategies.

Prada Group, as reported, has been enjoying strong brand momentum at both Prada and Miu Miu, which helped register strong profitability and revenues in the first half. In the six months ended June 30, group net profit soared 62 percent to 305 million euros and revenues amounted to 2.23 billion euros, up 17 percent compared with the same period last year.

Andrea Guerra joined the group as chief executive officer in January. — LUISA ZARGANI

YOHJI’S NEW CONCEPT: Cueing up future business expansion in the U.S., Yohji Yamamoto on Friday opened a new “concept” store at 52 Wooster Street in New York City.

The 1,600-square-foot unit showcases the Japanese designer’s main collections for women and men, as well as a number of lines including Y’s, the recently relaunched Y’s for Men and Limi Feu.

Also available here is the Wildside project, which features collaborations with the likes of Ambush, Supreme or Borsalino and will branch out beyond fashion.

This marks the return of Yohji Yamamoto to New York. A previous store located at the intersection of Mercer Grant streets opened in 1988 and shuttered in 2009.

Behind the brick facade with an 80-foot-long window, the longline store with high ceilings and an industrial feel also integrates a strong digital component.

A standout feature is the connection with The Shop Yohji Yamamoto, the online retail arm of the company offering the full complement of its brands. Consumers are able to connect with sales staff from the e-shop through one of the Wooster Street fitting rooms.

The store also has LED panels installed throughout that serve as a window into Yamamoto’s world view. For the opening, the panels display images of the fall 2023 men’s collection captured by fashion photographer Takay, a recurring collaborator of the brand.

The New York opening comes as the Japanese label steps up its retail development worldwide, with a raft of openings including in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Chengdu and Shenzhen in recent months. Further openings, in Shanghai and Beijing, are slated for 2024.

In Europe, the Yohji Yamamoto store on Rue Cambon in Paris reopened in January after a revamp, and the brand’s London store was relocated and reopened last March. Both retail outposts featured the new Power of the White Shirt line, focusing on his takes on this staple item, for men and women.

The designer also recently launched Y-3 Atelier, a line continuing his long-standing partnership with Adidas that parlays the patterns of Yamamoto’s runway pieces into items that cut closer to his namesake brand than ever. — LILY TEMPLETON

DEAL CLOSED: Authentic Brands Group now has annual retail sales in excess of $29 billion worldwide thanks to Friday’s closing of its deal to acquire Boardriders.

In March, the brand development, marketing and entertainment firm inked a deal to acquire Boardriders, the parent of Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, DC Shoes, Element, VonZipper, Honolua and Boardriders, for a reported $1.25 billion. At the time, Authentic had sales of $27.6 billion.

The company said it would shortly begin to orchestrate its plan to “announce a roster of best-in-class partners around the world to help drive the brands in their next stage of growth.”

The acquisition of Boardriders is a return to his roots in some way for Authentic’s founder Jamie Salter. The Toronto native started his career in sports marketing and was the cofounder of Ride snowboards in the early ’90s. After that company went public, he and Fanatics’ founder and executive chairman Michael Rubin created Global Sports Inc., which eventually became GSI Commerce. Once he exited that business, Salter turned his attention to licensing, cofounding Hilco Consumer Capital. Then in 2010, he formed Authentic Brands Group.

The company now owns more than 40 brands in a variety of categories ranging from Reebok and Brooks Brothers to Nautica and Sports Illustrated. In addition to Boardriders, it recently purchased Rockport and Hunter. — JEAN E. PALMIERI

HELPING THE OCEANS: Krost is continuing its commitment to philanthropy with a new collaboration.

The New York-based streetwear label is teaming with Nautica on a capsule collection that gives back to Oceana, an organization that works to protect and restore oceans. While this is the first time Krost and Nautica are teaming up, both brands have a long history giving back to Oceana.

“The upcoming Krost x Nautica release in support of Oceana has been a truly humbling and exciting experience for both myself and the team,” said Samuel Krost, founder of Krost. “We are honored and eternally grateful to have worked together to design a collection that pays homage to Nautica’s iconic heritage while also reflecting our shared values of giving back.” 

Both brands looked to a nautical vibe for the collection, which offers pieces like dress shirts, sweaters, cardigans, T-shirts, jackets, shorts, trousers and hats. Both brands took inspiration from Nautica’s archives and heritage pieces to create a retro, yet modern collection. 

The collection also leverages some of Nautica’s heritage design codes, such as its stripe motif, colorblocking and shoreline designs. 

“Our partnership with Krost was a thoughtful connection,” said Steve McSween, vice president of global design at Nautica. “They are a young brand that brought a point of view rich with nautical references and a heart for our environment. I am thrilled to have spent time with them.” 

The collaboration is Krost’s latest giveback initiative. For its spring 2023 collection, Krost reunited with the Eden Reforestation Projects to donate proceeds to the organization, which aims to fight climate change. Krost previously teamed with the organization in 2019, where it was able to plant more than 12,500 trees in six countries. The brand has also worked with organizations such as March for Our Lives, Team No Kid Hungry and New York Restoration Project, among others. 

The Krost x Nautica collection will be available for purchase on both brands’ websites and at Nordstrom and Revolve. — LAYLA ILCHI

SALE CANCELED: Christie’s has canceled the second chapter of “The World of Heidi Horten” sale, the auction house said Friday.

Anthea Peers, president of Christie’s Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the auction house had decided not to proceed with further sales of Horten’s estate as the sale of her jewelry had “provoked intense scrutiny, and the reaction to it has deeply affected us and many others, and we will continue to reflect on it” in an emailed statement.

The highly unusual move comes after months of controversy regarding the origins of the fortune used by Horton to purchase the jewelry. Organizations representing Holocaust survivors had decried the sale for its connection to the spoliation of Jews during World War II.

Austrian-born Horton, who died in 2020, inherited significant funds upon the 1987 death of her husband Helmut Horten, a German retailer whose department store chain benefited from Nazi-era policies that saw him purchase businesses from Jewish people forced to sell them at low prices.

Following the initial outcry, Christie’s had committed ahead of the May sales to donate “a significant portion of its commission to organizations that contribute to vitally important Holocaust research and education,” adding it would be up to these to communicate further.

A presale estimate for the whole collection placed it at some $150 million but was expected to break records with its catalogue of more than 700 jewels from the likes of Harry Winston, Bulgari and Cartier.

The three May sales totaled $202 million for some 400 lots, with a number of items soundly beating their high estimates, like the “Briolette of India” necklace from Harry Winston, featuring a 90-carat D-color diamond, that went for 6.3 million Swiss francs (or $7.1 million) or the 55-carat “The Star of Africa” ruby and diamond pendant necklace from Harry Winston fetched 2.7 million Swiss francs (just over $3 million), almost twice its initial top price.

The auction house executive confirmed the majority of the value of Horten’s collection was sold in May at a physical auction in Geneva and two online sales, “raising important support for philanthropic causes, including medical research, children’s welfare and access to the arts.“ The Heidi Horten Foundation said proceeds would go toward medical research and toward a Vienna-based museum showcasing the artwork collected by the couple.

The remaining 300 lots were due to be sold in November in Geneva.

In recent years, provenance has become a capital element in the value of jewels and other collectibles put at auction, commanding premiums can see prices go tenfold or more compared to similar unsigned items, according to experts. — L.T.