Bebe (Q3851)
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Bebe is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Bebe |
Bebe is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Manny Mashouf wants to take Bebe in a new direction. Gone are the cheap fabrics and the overtly sexy attitude from the past few years. In their place are high-end European and Japanese threads and, in Mashouf's words, a "sexual playfulness." Showing the looks at an art gallery, each framed in its own porthole as if they were portraits, was another way of signaling an elevated mood. The looks were certainly more sophisticated than what we've come to expect from this brand—the price point will be higher, too—but it's unclear what the new point of view will be. A belted white shirtdress, buttoned to the collar, looked crisp and cool, while an unadorned leather coat in pale pink was positively uptown. Mashouf is betting on regaining some of the core customers Bebe lost when the brand went down-market. The next step will be defining more precisely who that customer is.
9 September 2012
At Bebe, the Gibson Girl is out, and Veronica Lake is in. Entering his second season at the womenswear retailer, Charles Benton fused forties Hollywood glam with the imagery of Helmut Newton to create a Fall collection that was "dedicated to the diva, but modern and beautiful." Added the designer: "It's an homage to the power of women."In order to bring his vision to life, Benton looked to the heroine in the filmBlade Runneras a starting point, and let his high-end-design background (his résumé includes gigs with Giambattista Valli and Julien Macdonald) do the rest. The result was an elevated set of looks that appeared more sophisticated and less youthful than the tight-fitting, low-cut clothing that the brand has garnered a reputation for.When the dresses hugged the body, they were paired with long overcoats, and blazers added a sleek touch to short shorts. Benton also introduced new fabric treatments this season, such as the plaid featured on a pair of cropped trousers and the textured tweed on a knee-skimming skirt. Yet the carefree nature of the Bebe girl was not completely lost. Models walked the runway in turquoise and red scalloped heels, and handbags were done in bright alligator and leopard prints that are sure to satisfy the retailer's dedicated customer base. As for the company's founder, Manny Mashouf, he seemed totally in tune with Benton's overall theme. "I'm obsessed with women," he said after the show. "And I am thrilled to make women feel beautiful."
13 February 2012
This womenswear retailer has always catered to a youthful customer—one who likes her party dresses tight, bright, and low-cut—so it was an intriguing choice that Bebe brought in Charles Benton as a design consultant. Benton's background is in luxury, having cut his teeth at Emanuel Ungaro during the Giambattista Valli days, but rather than being asked to tailor his looks to the typical Bebe customer, he was given free rein. "I was surprised myself how much freedom I had," the Rome native admitted backstage.He opted for a frilly Gibson Girls theme, cast in all white and styled with an Edwardian touch. "But applied with a modern Parisian and NYC twist," Benton added. With ruffles, lace-up corset detailing, and pinafores—sometimes all in one look—it was tough to see the cool Parisian or New Yorker influence at times. It did help that fabrics ran in the high end with lightweight silk and cotton voile, embroidered silk, and stretch linen. And the later looks were stronger, such as a damask jacquard cut into a sporty anorak and a gorgeous closing dress with a pintucked bodice and shorter-in-front, floaty hem.Overall, the hefty emphasis on sheer white fabrics and the exaggerated tailoring in puff sleeves and corseted waists felt surprisingly fanciful for Bebe. That didn't seem to bother the company's founder, Manny Mashouf, any. "We're going to produce a few of the looks for maybe 40 to 50 doors," he said. "I know it's not our usual thing—it's really for a more sophisticated customer—but the best part of it is, our whole design team has been reinvigorated. They learned how to do something completely different." With all the contemporary lines that show safe designs for New York fashion week, you couldn't help but applaud that out-of-the-box thinking.
11 September 2011