Word: piazza
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...probes the depths of “Dividing Day,” a Guettel masterpiece from his recent Broadway musical, “The Light in the Piazza,” adding anger to the melancholy of Tony-winner Victoria Clark’s original interpretation. The song features jazz pianist Fred Hersch, who balances harmonic tension and melodic release, an appropriately unsettling touch to a song that chronicles a loveless marriage: “I can see the winter in your eyes, telling me, / ‘Go now, we did it, you curtsied, I bowed. / We are together...
...with both Angela Missoni and Roberto Cavalli showing collections that were surprisingly soft and low-key-the former experimenting with silk kimono shapes and a feminine new camo print that included lily pads; the latter displaying his billowing romantic dresses and sexy corsets against a backdrop of a Florentine Piazza...
Good management like that, something relatively new to the fashion business, is what draws investors in. "That's probably the No. 1 criterion for any private-equity investment," says Philippe Franchet, a partner at L Capital, explaining why they invested in the low-profile Piazza Sempione brand. "The management team is brilliant." Translation: it has a manager with a good production record and a solid business plan. When Enrico Morra, managing director of Piazza Sempione, and the company's founders met with L Capital's partners, they outlined exactly what they wanted to do, including opening more stand-alone stores...
...says Morra. "They're a sparring partner, someone to sit down to discuss, 'Do we have to open on Madison Avenue or in the meatpacking district?'" He partnered with L Capital because its advisers knew how to get handbag and shoe lines up and running, something that could help Piazza Sempione avoid missteps...
...family-owned companies like Piazza Sempione eager to maintain some sort of control, private equity is a plus. "Before, the only chance for a family company was to sell themselves to a big conglomerate or luxury group," says Bensoussan. "And then they would lose all their power." And it's good for managers; it gives them something they like. "Freedom!" says Bensoussan, laughing. "If you deliver what you promise, it's a dream world." Working for a conglomerate like Gucci or LVMH has its advantages?access to real estate, saving on advertising. But there are downsides. "Sometimes the smaller companies...