The grand opening of Clark’s Register last week in SoHo brought an eclectic and egalitarian mix of men’s apparel to a busy street. Unusual items, like recycled-tire-sole Italian shoes from U-Roads, mixed comfortably with more familiar product, such as a rack of Robert Graham shirts. Careful editing made brands like Spiewak and Scotch & Soda cozy neighbors,...

Last week, MR editors mined the Las Vegas menswear tradeshows for trends and innovations. For my part, I left New York a bit apprehensive about my first Vegas round, but I returned invigorated and hopeful for spring ’09 and menswear at large.

One reason was the obvious popularity of green marketing, which we’ve been hearing about at increasing volume for...

Whether traffic was up or down over last year’s Vegas round of menswear tradeshows, it seemed like a healthy flow to me. At least cab lines were emphatically not shorter than I had been led to believe they would be. The shows, the parties, the gladhanding and introductions all left quite an impression, and one morning I joined a meeting with retailers...

By holding an event in an authentic environment complete with sympathetic art, Nautica has taken a holiday from New York Fashion Week. The cruise was an innovative redeployment of their Fashion Week budget and an idea worth modeling. Even a charity angle was incorporated. It was also a fine example of brand reinforcement with theming from inside and...

People are still the most unique asset of a franchise.

Mervyn’s, Bennigan’s, Boscov’s…it seems like chains are hurting and flatlining all over irrespective of industry. The economy is moribund, and many businesses are cheek-by-jowl offering the same products. In the streets of Midtown Manhattan, you can’t miss the scrap between Starbucks and...