MOET & CHANDON SHOW PUT ON HOLD
Byline: Leonard McCants
NEW YORK — Moet & Chandon, sponsor of fashion week’s Designer Debut for new talent, is corking the showcase for the spring 2002 runway, while executives work to retool the program.
The champagne maker, however, will continue its sponsorship of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
“We’re not scaling back our commitment, this is just a minor blip,” said a spokeswoman. “We’ll stop and take a look, and reevaluate the program, and bring back all the things that work best for us.”
Moet & Chandon officials will look at several different options, the spokeswoman said, including whether to continue with the current format of presenting smaller collections from three emerging designers or focus on just one or increase the number to four or five. Another option under consideration is adding men’s wear to the mix.
“We’re looking at ways of extending the program to make it better,” she said.
Introduced in February 1999, the Moet & Chandon Designer Debut has featured a wide spectrum of young talent, including David Rodriguez, Alice Roi, Sally Penn, Lizzie Disney, William Calvert, Robert Danes, Thomas Steinbruck, The Wrights, Lotta and Alexandra Lind, and last season’s winners Christine Ganeaux, Elisa Jimenez and Seth Shapiro.