Starbucks will give New York Fashion Week a nice jolt, though not from its coffee.
Starbucks is sponsoring the Council of Fashion Designers of America event Wednesday evening at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center to kick off New York Fashion Week. That’s where a Starbucks inspired long, flowing Siren dress, designed by Zac Posen in Starbucks’ signature green, will be worn by none other than Nicole Kidman’s daughter, Sunday Rose. Posen worked with celebrity stylist Erin Walsh on the project. Also at the event, a variety of Starbucks Reserve cocktails, including the Starbucks Reserve Espresso Martinis and Starbucks Reserve Old Fashioned, as well as Starbucks new protein beverages officially launching Sept. 29, will be served.
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The Starbucks Siren, the widely recognized twin-tailed mermaid featured on the company’s logo since the coffee retailer was founded in 1971, is inspired by a 16th-century Norse woodcut and the maritime history of coffee trading. Starbuck is a character in the novel “Moby Dick.” According to Starbucks, “The Siren embodies the mythical allure and irresistible ‘song’ of coffee, linking the brand to its seafaring origins and the global journey of its beans.”
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Designing a dress for Starbucks is one of several professional hats Posen wears these days. He’s Gap Inc.’s executive vice president and creative director and Old Navy’s chief creative officer, and has a collection under his own label selling at Saks Fifth Avenue and elsewhere. The event will be hosted by Thom Browne, chairman of the CFDA. No doubt, they’ll be crowding the special Starbucks bar for some of brand’s blends.
Among its other NYFW activities, Starbucks hosted a party in conjunction with highsnobiety.com at the Starbucks Reserve café in the Empire State Building on Tuesday, bringing together designers, stylists, artists and musicians. Starbucks Reserve is the brand’s premium experience serving rare coffee blends.
“Starbucks has been a longtime champion of the arts and believes in the power of creativity and storytelling to inspire joy and connection. Like fashion, Starbucks is rooted in craft and self-expression, and we are honored to be a part of New York Fashion week to support tastemakers shaping culture,” Candice Beck, Starbucks vice president of brand engagement, said in a statement provided to WWD.
Starbucks’ NYFW activities have been orchestrated by Ana Andjelic, an executive consultant retained by the retailer to amplify its cultural programming. Andjelic previously led marketing campaigns during her stints as chief brand officer at Banana Republic and more recently, Esprit.
With its Siren dress, Starbucks is dipping its toe in fashion. In terms of merchandise, the brand is more known for tumblers and ceramics, other than coffee. But Starbucks is expected to show up in bigger ways in fashion, as well as beauty, sports and entertainment, perhaps through collaborations, products and activations, though Starbucks executives are not yet specifically commenting on what’s ahead. NYFW appears to be the start of a new approach.