SAN FRANCISCO — Calvin Klein left a lot of goodwill here this week, and his customers left lots of orders.
During a two-day tour of San Francisco and I. Magnin, the store rang up more than $210,000 in Calvin Klein merchandise, including $30,000 in accessories. And this was before Magnin’s official two-day trunk show, scheduled for Wednesday and today.
Klein was in San Francisco for the city’s Valentine Ball Monday night, an annual affair cosponsored by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Magnin’s.
The timing was appropriate, given the mutual admiration that flowed between Klein and San Francisco.
More than 600 fans lined up Tuesday afternoon in Magnin’s second-floor designer salon to meet Klein. People of all ages brought underwear, T-shirts, photographs and magazines for Klein to autograph. The designer, with model Kate Moss by his side, dutifully obliged. Afterward, Joseph Cicio, chairman and chief executive officer, took Klein on a breezy tour of the eight-story flagship, with an entourage of about 100 fans and employees trying to keep up. After the tour, Klein said he was impressed with the changes Cicio had made, adding, “It is so much fresher — really a younger, modern store.”
On Monday evening, Klein showed an abbreviated version of his spring collections to the crowd at the Valentine Ball, held in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. After the show, the patrons went to a seated dinner, and the younger crowd ate standing up to a heavy dance beat. Klein and Cicio moved from party to party.
During the sit-down dinner, Myron E. Ullman, chairman of R.H. Macy & Co., huddled with Donald Fisher, founder of The Gap, discussing retail issues. Kate Moss slipped out to smoke cigarettes with her date, actor Gary Oldman. And Susie Tompkins drew attention by bringing Gracie, her Jack Russell terrier.
Tompkins, who praised the simplicity of Klein’s spring collection, said she was glad to see it get a prominent home in Magnin’s.
“It’s my very favorite place to spend money,” she said.
More than 20 officials from Calvin Klein in New York, led by chairman Barry Schwartz, accompanied the designer. They were Susan Sokol, president of the Calvin Klein women’s collection; Marty Staff, president of the men’s collection, and Rick Rector, corporate president of retail.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
Sokol said it was not unusual for the organization to travel “en masse” with the designer.
“We just like to make sure everything is done just the way Calvin likes it,” she said.
The idea for the trip came out of a meeting last fall when Cicio gave Klein a day-long presentation on I. Magnin and why the store should be the designer’s key West Coast retailer. Afterward, Cicio said, the store and designer intensified efforts to build the Calvin Klein business. According to industry sources, I. Magnin’s does about $16 million with Calvin Klein in 12 stores. “We try to target key retailers, and I. Magnin is definitely that for us on the West Coast,” said Schwartz.