Benjamin Cercio Announced Global Communications Director for Gucci
Kering’s announced the appointment of Benjamin Cercio as Gucci’s Global Communications Director.
“I am honored to join Gucci as Global Communications Director, and to start working for this very inspiring and creative House I have always admired.” – Benjamin Cercio
Cercio previously was with Louis Vuitton for over 15 years.
Holt Renfrew Announced Anne Pitcher Deputy Chairman
Anne Pitcher has been named deputy chairman of Holt Renfrew in Canada.
At the end of this year, Pitcher will be stepping down from Selfridges as managing director of Selfridges Group following its sale to Central Group and Signa Holding.
David Stuckey And Kimberly Fasting-Berg Tapped By WME Fashion
WME announced David Stuckey and Kimberly Fasting-Berg have joined the company as EVP, Revenue and EVP, Marketing of WME Fashion, a portfolio that includes Art + Commerce, IMG Models, IMG Fashion Events and Properties, and The Wall Group.
“I’m pleased to welcome David and Kim to WME Fashion. Alongside our global teams, their expertise will propel our fashion business to new heights as we continue to innovate and deliver value for our clients and partners across fashion, beauty, luxury, and events,” said Susan Plagemann, President of WME Fashion.
“I look forward to working with David and Kim to identify and drive forward meaningful and unique opportunities while capitalizing on their experience and robust networks alongside the resources of our diverse fashion portfolio.”
Stuckey most recently served as Chief Business Officer at Shop Premium Outlets where he led business development, responsible for doubling retail partnerships and launching the company’s digital marketplace efforts to include livestream capabilities. He formerly spent over a decade at Condé Nast where he led global sales for Vogue. In his role, Stuckey doubled brand revenue and paved the way for multi-channel selling across the Condé Nast brand portfolio.
Fasting-Berg brings over two decades of experience in branding, marketing and strategy across luxury, fashion, beauty, and retail. She most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at Kravet where she oversaw the reinvigoration of the company’s portfolio of home brands. Prior to Kravet, Fasting-Berg was Head of Marketing at Condé Nast. During her tenure, she oversaw the transition of a legacy print business into a monetizable digital-first offering and launched several vital marketing innovations that aligned with key cultural moments including The Met Gala, Vogue’s Forces of Fashion, Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party, and more.
Stuckey and Fasting-Berg start their new roles this month and will look to identify and deliver innovative opportunities that weave together fashion with entertainment, culture, and sports. WME Fashion’s robust portfolio spans talent representation, event ownership and production, original content creation, and consulting services, offering a complete solution tailored to serve the ever-evolving global fashion industry.
Ronnie Fieg Becomes the First-Ever Creative Director of the New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have announced that Kith-founder & CEO Ronnie Fieg has been named as the Knicks first-ever Creative Director. This new role will see Fieg take on new responsibilities with the team and will focus on building a community around an international brand. He will also develop an in-house line of products and oversee extenuating creative around the team.
Fieg was born-and-raised in Queens, NY as a die hard Knicks fan. His love for the team dates to his childhood, attending games with his father from as early as he can remember. In 2020, Fieg’s brand, Kith, launched their first partnership with the Knicks as the duo created a collaborative apparel collection. This was also the first year that Kith and Fieg designed the team’s City Edition Uniform. The following year, Kith and the Knicks would reprise their partnership both on and off the court. The 2021 partnership saw a new collection, a new City Edition Uniform, a newly designed court at MSG, as well as a refurbished playground court in Queens. These collaborations set the foundation for Fieg’s appointment to Creative Director.
“The opportunity came about a few seasons into designing the City Edition uniforms and the growing relationship between myself and their marketing team. I think they saw the passion I have for the team and wanted to evolve what we’ve been doing with Kith into something more. Long conversations about what the Knicks mean to the League and to the world helped shape the opportunity to really do some special things. I think the immediate work calls for consistency in how you view the Knicks as a brand and help grow that to more of a global identity in the long run. I feel that many people love the team, and it’s going to be my responsibility that they also all love the brand the same way I do.” – Ronnie Fieg, Kith Founder & CEO
“When Ronnie created his first Knicks City Edition Uniform during the 2020-21 season, the organization knew we had something special, and each year’s design has been more innovative than the last. We are honored to have him join the Knicks as Creative Director,” said David Hopkinson, President & CCO, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. “Ronnie’s position will help provide a distinctive look and feel across marketing, content and merchandise initiatives. Given Ronnie’s life-long Knicks fandom, creative vision, and New York City roots, we are extremely excited for our continued and expanded collaboration.”
Isabel Ge Mahe Joins lululemon Board of Directors
lululemon athletica inc. announced the appointment of Isabel Ge Mahe to serve on its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
“Isabel is a seasoned executive with global experience across technology, retail and product development,” said Martha Morfitt, Chair of the Board. “We are excited to welcome Isabel to the lululemon Board of Directors and know her breadth of expertise in product development and leadership, as well as her deep knowledge of the business and guests in China will be invaluable as we continue to grow and execute on our international expansion strategy.”
Ms. Ge Mahe is the Vice President and Managing Director of Greater China for Apple, where she provides leadership and coordination across Apple’s China-based team. In this position, she has played a key role in developing new China-specific features for Apple products, enabling the company to connect customers with innovative products and technology solutions.
Ms. Ge Mahe joined Apple in 2008 as Vice President of Wireless Technologies and oversaw the development of cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, location and motion technologies for products across the business. Prior to Apple, she served as Vice President of Wireless Software Engineering at Palm and held key managerial positions at other technology-focused organizations.
“I am proud to join the Board of lululemon, a purpose-driven company with an exciting vision and opportunity for global growth, including in China,” said Ms. Ge Mahe. “I look forward to working with the Company as it continues to build on its momentum and serve more guests around the world.”
Ms. Ge Mahe has served on the Board of Directors for Starbucks since 2019 and was named to Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women list in 2021 and 2022. She received a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Masters of Engineering from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
True Religion Names Tina Blake as Senior Vice President, Women’s Design and Brand Image
True Religion announced the appointment of Tina Blake as Senior Vice President, Women’s Design and Brand Image. This new role, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Michael Buckley, is a key component to True Religion’s expanded women’s merchandise strategy to drive incremental revenue and new customer acquisition.
“Tina’s proven track record of growing women’s businesses over the past 15 years makes her the perfect leader to help take True Religion’s women’s business to the next level,” said Michael Buckley, CEO, True Religion. “Our goal over the next three years is to increase women’s sales from the 35% it is today to being on par with men’s at 50% of the business. We have a legion of loyal women’s consumers and are very excited to fuel growth in this category.”
Blake will oversee all women’s product and brand image and work closely with Creative Director Zihaad Wells. She will lead women’s initiatives and create a consistent brand identity across all aspects of the women’s business, including marketing, advertising, customer communications, social media, e-commerce, and retail stores. She joins True Religion from Techstyle Fashion Group where, as Vice President, Design and Operations for Global Fashion Brands, she managed design, product development, and technical design teams for JustFab and ShoeDazzle brands in North America and Europe. Prior to joining Techstyle, Blake was at Guess, Inc. for seven years, where she started as a Senior Designer, Young Contemporary and was promoted to Director of Design, Young Contemporary. Earlier in her career, she was a Designer for Rip Curl USA.
“I’m thrilled to join True Religion at this extremely exciting moment in its history,” Blake said. “It will be exciting to work with such a talented team on one of the most iconic names in fashion as we take the women’s category to a whole new level.”
The strategy includes relaunching True Religion’s Core Denim collection for women and offering a more robust assortment of styles across a wider range of washes, silhouettes, and plus sizes. The brand will also engage in more collaborations with female artists and influencers, such as its recently launched collaboration with American singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress Dreezy.
Claire’s Teams Up With Fashion Director And “Futurist” Nicola Formichetti To Collaborate On Special Projects
Global fashion brand Claire’s and Nicola Formichetti have partnered to bring the fashion icon’s imaginative point of view to several of the brand’s upcoming initiatives as Creative Director in Residence. Claire’s and Nicola are champions of self-expression with an authentic connection to the next generation, making them ideal partners as the brand continues to celebrate individuality and make an impact on youth as part of the cultural zeitgeist. Through fashion inspiration and expertise, engaging content that sparks conversation and a physical store that will transport consumers into the future of retail and style, among other projects, Nicola will bring new inspiration as the brand deepens its connection with Gen ‘Zalpha’.
“As a platform for the voices of Gen ‘Zalpha’, we create a space for our consumers to express themselves. We want to constantly present Claire’s in imaginative, fresh ways across content, product, and experiences. We are partnering with inspired and inventive talent who can capture the ethos of Claire’s and bring it to life in next level experiences,” said Kristin Patrick, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Claire’s. “Nicola is one of the most imaginative and creative talents of our time, and his essence and youthful spirit are in complete energetic alignment with everything that our brand stands for. Together, we have an opportunity to continue to make Claire’s an open forum for self-expression and inspiration.”
“Claire’s means freedom. It’s a beautiful, magical wonderland where you get to be yourself, play and have fun. Claire’s and I believe in being you and loving that, and together we want to encourage self-expression and empower today’s generations to explore and be uniquely themselves,” said Nicola Formichetti.
The collaboration between Nicola and Claire’s kicked off this Fall with Get Pierced, a multi-channel campaign featuring powerful creators including actress and hip-hop artist That Girl Lay Lay, singer Dai Time and influencer Kheris Rogers in a series of videos directed by Aaron Idelson that touted Claire’s continued leadership in ear piercing and the individuality of every EarPrint. Claire’s and Nicola will continue to empower Gen ‘Zalpha’ to discover and celebrate their own style sensibilities through:
C.Studio Series – For the latest installment of Claire’s successful content series, Nicola has conceptualized a new look and feel for C.Studio to spark exploration and discovery through culture-defining style and tips for fashion expression from four industry-recognized experts. The first of five videos will launch on November 14th and roll out through the remainder of the year, embracing today’s top trends through the influence of talents hand-selected by Nicola. Taking followers inside a dedicated theme across hair, makeup, nails, style and ear piercing, the content will be shoppable, empowering Gen ‘Zalpha’ to put their own spin on the top trends from leading style authorities. Follow along with #CStudio as the series debuts across the digital channels of Claire’s, Nicola and the celebrity talent.
V Magazine Partnership – Heading into the holidays, Nicola will elevate the way the brand connects with Gen ‘Zalpha’ through a partnership with leading style publication V Magazine on their first-ever issue curated for and with young people. The first installment of the limited-edition print and digital magazine will launch in November, packed with gift inspiration, thought-provoking op-eds penned by this generation and more. Consumers will be able to purchase the holiday issue through various access points including QR codes in store, on Claires.com and through social media. A limited run of the printed magazines will also be sold in select Claire’s stores.
Claire’s Paris Store – Nicola’s creative direction and influence will come to life in full force in December with the opening of Claire’s new store in Paris. A space for consumers to experience the future of Claire’s, the store will usher in a new era of retail with a ‘phygital’ and futuristic feel that will immerse consumers in the brand and elevate its industry-leading piercing business. Inviting creative and design exploration from emerging designers and stylists, the space will also offer an experiential studio for content creation.