Bebe Taps Cardona, Phillips for High-Fashion Line
Bebe Stores Inc. is best known for earning double-digit same-store sales from its 228 mall-based stores, but the Brisbane, Calif.–based retailer also aspires to high fashion.
Bebe hired Los Angeles–based designer David Cardona and costume designer Arianne Phillips to create a high-fashion line that will debut at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif., in March. Cardona, a proteacute;geacute; of Richard Tyler, has designed his own line as well as helmed collections at Cerruti and Development. Phillips most recently designed wardrobes for the Oscar-nominated film “Walk the Line.”
The line will only be available at a handful of Bebe boutiques including the retailer’s Beverly Hills store, which opened on Rodeo Drive in November 2005.
Bebe also announced on Feb. 7 that Mischa Barton, actor on the Fox network series “The O.C.,” will be the model for much of its ads. Barton’s campaign will hit magazines and television by summer 2006. —Andrew Asch
