Word: pret
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...Several successful European entrepreneurs are working on answers - and their novel approaches to issues such as room size and pricing could change the travel industry. One of these fledgling hoteliers is Sinclair Beecham, co-founder of the U.K.'s Pret A Manger sandwich-shop chain, who last autumn opened the 205-room Hoxton Hotel, which he calls an "urban lodge," in London. Urban lodge? Unlike a Shrager-inspired boutique hotel, where cool, sleek design often comes off cold, Hoxton Hotel has the homey comforts of a rural inn. Yet, says Beecham, "It's got concrete floors, exposed columns and exposed...
...Ilissa Shefferman, who graduated from Chicago's International Academy of Design and Technology last September, says it was a conscious choice to start her label, I.S. Designs, in Chicago. Was she concerned about setting up shop in a town known more for its pizza than its pret-a-porter? "It does kind of have a dorky reputation, but I think it's undeserved," she says, laughing. "Chicagoans are pretty open-minded, and they love to branch out wearing local designers - there's a feeling of pride...
...years on a menu that's not just about low carbs, Hirshberg thinks he has the recipe for success. As he puts it, "It's about the food, stupid." And with more on-the-go diners already ordering salads and frequenting quick-casual alternatives like Panera Bread, Baja Freshand Pret a Manger, O'Naturals may soon be looking pretty smart. --By Daniel Eisenberg
That dichotomy of price and style has always been the industry's not so secret weapon. You make more money selling perfume than you do hawking pret-a-porter. Only 2.4% of the U.S. population has the annual household income of $200,000 that qualifies them as luxury shoppers. You could go broke catering to that lot. "The preponderance of luxury goods is not sold to that population," says Bills of RPA. "The majority are licensed goods sold in Topeka, Kansas, and places like...
...That's how it is with his designs too. In his latest line, launched at the Paris pret-a-porter collections last month, Takahashi takes the very Japanese idea of "deconstructed clothing"?garments torn apart and put back together in novel ways?and infuses it with a sense of violence. Jackets and pants are ripped to shreds, then stitched with loose red thread left dangling in a manner that suggests blood. Shirtsleeves are amputated and re-attached the way a wound would be sutured. The aesthetic nexus between beauty and pain obsesses Takahashi, and the collection is as viciously elegant...