Nowhere was that more evident than at the Gilt Groupe's recent national tour stop at Atlanta’s Spice Market to promote luxury shopping by online ‘appointment’ and invitation only.
Every few weekdays, at noon, the Gilt Groupe conducts a designer fire sale; offering members discounts at up to 70 percent off on brands as various as Marc Jacobs, Dunhill, Hickey-Freeman and Judith Ripka. Styles are current to the season and sold in severely limited quantities.
It’s a slick operation that looks as if some calculating Seventh Avenue conglomerate must run it. But it’s actually the year-old brainchild of two sunny blondes (Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson) who have parlayed their upscale label and e-tail connections into a sample sale sensation.
(For membership info: visit the Gilt Groupe's info page).
The Atlanta Gilt Groupe event coincided neatly with a banner report in the following Sunday’s New York Times, which detailed how clothes-hounds are going to great lengths to conceal the fact that they’re still shopping for prestige labels in spite of the recession. The Ruth La Ferla feature detailed how invitation-only sample sales behind clothes doors of homes and hotel suites have become the rage in Manhattan.
Shopping via the Gilt Groupe is in keeping, then, with the times.
“Many of our members come into the site not knowing what’s in the particular sale, but they’re making buying decisions within the first 45 seconds,” Wilkis Wilson said of the site’s first-come, first-served methodology.
“The typical sale offers goods hand-selected by our buying team…That’s the promise we give our customers; exclusivity. It’s all insider merchandise at insider prices.”
It’s not atypical for a selection of Valentino gowns to be snapped up in a matter of minutes, she continued.
“The whole world doesn’t have to know where you’re shopping or what you’re spending,” added Wilbanks. “Whether a customer is buying a $20,000 watch for $10,000 or a pair of $100 jeans for $60, it’s their business.”
A cadre of Atlanta-based celebrities made it a point to welcome the Gilt Groupe’s founders. Bevy Smith of “Dinner with Bevy” TV fame was flown in to serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
“Soul Food” star Nicole Ari Parker was there arm-in-arm with her co-star and hubby Boris Kodjoe, who himself is delving into the rag trade in association with the Ziami menswear label. (Kodjoe’s much more affable and far less intense in person than he seems onscreen.)
Ramping up the style quotient was Adrene Ashford (Jennifer Hudson's personal stylist and owner of two chic intown boutiques bearing her name), as well as wardrobing expert Patrick Cooper, who warded off the night's chills by wearing a mink stole.
Rounding out the VIP guest list, from the music realm were: songstress Keri Hilson, songwriter Sean Garrett and performer Bryan Michael Cox.
“Project Runway” victor Mychael Knight (bow-tied and buttoned-down) was there handing out samples of his debut fragrance, Majk, to selected guests. In spite of his reality show fame, Knight maintained that striving to succeed as a designer is still “a grind”.
Two principals of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” phenomenon (Lisa Wu Hartwell and Sheree Whitfield) attened, and neither bristled at the attentive stares and whispers their presence elicited.
Most resplendent of all the celebrity guests may have been the ‘Dirty South’ rapper David Banner (Warning: Explicit Lyrics), who looked most debonair in a Purple Label Ralph Lauren suit and flashed a genteel demeanor that contradicted the vulgar lyrics of hit tunes that are strip club anthems.
Banner said he’s involved in the launch of a forthcoming menswear label that will “be the conduit between the streets and true fashion. “
“High fashion always borrows from the streets, but in most peoples’ minds there’s no connection. I’m about to change that,” Banner declared.
In a coy way that totally contradicts his in-your-face rap lyrics, Banner demurred when asked how old he was.
“Old enough to make a woman smile and young enough to keep it there,” was his reply.
Some things defy explanation.
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