Vivienne Westwood, Diane von Furstenberg and Playboy

Diane von Furstenberg, Versace and Vivienne Westwood are among the designer names helping Playboy Enterprises Inc. (Chicago) celebrate its 50th anniversary.

They and an assortment of others will design parts of a collection of limited edition and one-of-a-kind fashion and consumer products. Each designer has collaborated with Playboy's product licensing division to produce products and designs that will be available at retail for the upcoming holiday season.

The 50th Anniversary Playboy Designer Collection consists of more than 20 fashion designs and lifestyle product offerings across 15 categories, all limited edition with each category exclusive to a leading designer.

Versace has created a one-of-a-kind haute couture gown and one-of-a-kind pair of shoes. The evening gown is a quartz pink, lilac and powder green hand-draped silk, chiffon and wide tulle evening gown with coordinating maxi scarf, hand-embroidered in gold filament thread with signature Playboy rabbit head and “DV” motifs, for the haute couture category.

Vivienne Westwood has designed a one-of-a-kind bustier and hipster mini kilt for the specialty fashion category.

Diane von Furstenberg has created a limited-edition wrap dress in a Playboy print, inspired by the Playboy bunny silhouette for the ready-to-wear category. Garrard, the British jeweler, has designed a pendant, limited-edition lockets and cufflinks for the jewelry category. MAC Cosmetics has produced limited-edition lipstick and glitter cream for the cosmetics category. Sean John has designed velour men's and women's track-suits and a one-of-a-kind overcoat, tuxedo and dress shirt for the men's and women's streetwear category.

Other designers include Dsquared2 for the T-shirts category; Kathrine Baumann for the minaudiere category; Peter Golding for the denim category; Philip Treacy for the hats category; Wolford for the hosiery category; Birdhouse for the skateboard category; Burton for the snowboard category and Dunhill for the men's luxury accessories category.

Some of the limited-edition designer collections will be available for sale beginning in November at exclusive retail locations in major cities around the world, including Henri Bendel in New York, Selfridges in London, The Playboy Concept store in Tokyo and Seibu in Hong Kong, as well as individually through some of the designers' own retail distribution channels. Some of the one-of-a-kind items, as well as some signed limited-edition items, will go on tour around the country and the world, culminating with a sale at auction in New York early next year, with all proceeds benefiting DIFFA (The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS).

In New York in December, at the same time that Playboy holds its 50th anniversary gala, Pamela Fields, senior vp, worldwide consumer products licensing, will discuss the Playboy retail and brand initiatives at VM+SD's StoreXpo at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Fields will speak on Friday, December 5, at 10 a.m. in the Javits Center's River Pavilion.

Playboy's branded line of licensed fashion and consumer products, repositioned and launched in 1999, is expected to reach worldwide sales of more than $350 million in 2003. Playboy consumer products are featured at such fashion-forward retailers as Patricia Field in New York, Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Colette of Paris, Fiorucci in Milan and Harrods in London. Last year also saw the launch of the first freestanding Playboy fashion boutique, Playboy Tokyo in the trendy Aoyama district.

StoreXpo, the industry's annual December market, will be held Dec. 5-7, 2003, at the Javits Center and at the various partnering showrooms around the city. Other speakers will include Christian Davies, vp, creative director, FRCH Design Worldwide ( “The Elastic Brand: Retail Evolution in a Time of Change”); Michael Cape, vp, director of visual merchandising and store design, J.C. Penney Corp. (“The Renaissance of Visual Merchandising and Store Design: Are You Ready for It?”); and Melissa Hoffman, vp, business development, Fitch:Worldwide (“The Boutique Approach to Department Stores”).

For more information and to register for StoreXpo, go to www.storexpo.info. Hotel discounts are available online. For exhibiting opportunities, contact Jennifer Robinson at 800-925-1110, ext. 367, or at jennifer.robinson@stmediagroup.com.