The New York Timesreports that Karl Lagerfeld will be collaborating with Tod's Diego Della Valle for a collection for Tod's Hogan brand.
Mr. Lagerfeld, 76, described Hogan as a "contemporary brand" and said in a statement that he liked "the idea of collaborating" with Diego Della Valle, the founder, president and chief executive of Tod's.
Mr. Della Valle is looking to globalize the reach of Hogan, founded in 1988. It has been developed by his son Emanuele as a creative and inventive provider of technosport and urban footwear and leather goods.
Not much is known about the future collection other than that it will include clothing, shoes and accessories and will debut in spring 2011. It will likely be a one-time only collaboration.
WWD reports that luxury handbag maker Hogan is getting into the eyewear business. The eyewear will feature an H as a logo and will be in stores starting Monday.
Hogan's 16 styles for men and women are made from plastic, metal or combinations of the two, and are made in Italy. The prescription frames will arrive in stores at the end of March.
"The eyewear was a natural evolution for a successful brand like Hogan that started out with footwear and, in time, has added leather goods and apparel," said Nicola Giorgi, Hogan's general manager.
The women's styles are characterized by a contemporary spin on oversize, slightly retro shapes, while the men's designs have an aviator feel. Colors include black, shades of brown and plum. Retail prices range from 190 euros, or $285 at current exchange, to 250 euros, or $375.
Celebrities already have been spotted wearing the frames, including Naomi Watts, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Moss, Daisy Lowe, Kiera Chaplin, Colin Firth and Anna Friel.
Hogan has 45 retail stores worldwide which will all sell the sunglasses.
Hogan, which is owned by the Tod's group, is currently expanding its offerings. Hogan's apparel line, which is designed by Thakoon Panichgul, will also most likely be expanding.
Italian luxury leather goods company Tod's reported
a profit for 2008 and a positive start to 2009. Tod's SpA CEO Diego Della Valle said that the company made an 8% gain in revenues and earnings in 2008. In addition to Tod's, the company also owns Hogan, Fay and Roger Vivier.
"The first signals of the current year may be considered positive," Della Valle stated, attributing the group's success to high product quality rather than following fashion trends.
He added that although the uncertain economic environment limited visibility, Tod's aimed "to preserve and consolidate its market share and its profitability" by focusing on costs, improving operating efficiency and giving "great attention" to product innovation.
For the 12 months through Dec. 31, the Italian shoe and leather goods firm, which owns the Tod's, Hogan, Fay and Roger Vivier brands, reported net profits of 83.4 million euros, or $122.7 million, on consolidated sales of 716.4 million euros, or $1.05 billion, which were in line with expectations.
How nice to hear about a company these days that's actually posting a profit instead of filing bankruptcy. We do love Tod's shoes and handbags.
Handbag maker Hogan thought it had a great idea: designing new handbags named after famous women. But someone in marketing didn't do his research and now te company is being sued by rocker Chrissie Hynde.
It was almost a brilliant idea.
Trendy handbag designer Hogan just launched a groovy range named after rock chicks. They called a pony-skin version the Chrissie, after Chrissie Hynde - who is a prominent anti-leather campaigner. Oops.
"I never thought I'd be moved to consider filing a lawsuit, but as soon as I heard my name was being used to promote bags made of dead-animal skin, I started exploring my legal options with my friends at PETA," Hynde told Gatecrasher. "At first, I thought this must be a joke, it's so outrageous and thoughtless."
In the past, Hynde's passionate aversion to leather has put her on the other side of the law.
In 2000, the Pretenders front woman was arrested after trashing the window display in the Gap's flagship Times Square store. She and fellow PETA protesters destroyed leather pants and jackets that featured in Gap's heavily publicized "Everybody in Leather" campaign.
A spokeswoman for Hogan did not return calls yesterday.
The moral of this story: always get permission from a celebrity before naming a handbag/lipstick/perfume after her.