Big Names in Retail Fashion Are Trading Teams
New York Times, March 8, 2008 — It’s free-agency season in American fashion.
Isaac Mizrahi, the everyman’s fashion oracle, is about to leave behind his wildly popular cheap-chic clothing collections at Target to be the creative director for Liz Claiborne, the stalwart shopping-mall label.
Dana Buchman, a longtime favorite of customers at upscale stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, is decamping this fall to the budget-conscious Kohl’s.
And Tommy Hilfiger, a constant in department stores like Dillard’s and Bon-Ton for two decades, now says he will sell his clothes only at Macy’s.
Over the next year, an unusually large group of famous clothing designers, motivated by lucrative deals, plan to shift their retail allegiances, in many cases abandoning stores and customers who have supported them for years.


