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Published: Thursday, October 20, 2005
Neiman Marcus' Kaner to Retire
By Sharon Edelson
NEW YORK — Joan Kaner will resign at the end of the month as senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus, a position she's held for 16 years.
Burton Tansky, chairman and chief executive officer of the Neiman Marcus Group, expressed disappointment over Kaner's departure, but said the company wasn't entirely caught off guard.
"Joan had indicated some interest in this occurring, so it gave us a chance to think about it," he said.
However, he added that he does not have an immediate successor in mind.
"She has been one of the pillars of fashion for many years and we will miss her. She has extraordinary eyes for spotting new talent and her vision always proved to be correct."
Oscar de la Renta
"Now that this is a public issue the search will get more intense," he said. "A great deal of the decision would be from the store group. Karen Katz [ceo of the Neiman Marcus stores division] and her team have to talk about it. We're going to look for the best person out there, whether it's someone inside our company or out there. Filling Joan's shoes is not going to be an easy task."
According to sources, Herbert Mines Assoc. will be awarded the search. Possible candidates include Robert Burke, senior vice president of fashion at the Neiman's-owned Bergdorf Goodman; Michael Fink, senior fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, Julie Gilhart, vice president and fashion director of Barneys New York and Ken Downing, vice president of corporate public relations, who does fashion presentations and oversees the store's fashion shows and special events.
"I wouldn't say there's a big talent pool," said Elaine Hughes, president of E.A. Hughes & Co., a search firm here. "Thirty years ago every retailer had fashion directors. I would say the best pool would be the magazines. If you look at Elle and Vogue, the editors really have to have a point of view and an eye."
excerpt wwd.com...
this is MAJOR!!!...

Neiman Marcus' Kaner to Retire
By Sharon Edelson
NEW YORK — Joan Kaner will resign at the end of the month as senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus, a position she's held for 16 years.
Burton Tansky, chairman and chief executive officer of the Neiman Marcus Group, expressed disappointment over Kaner's departure, but said the company wasn't entirely caught off guard.
"Joan had indicated some interest in this occurring, so it gave us a chance to think about it," he said.
However, he added that he does not have an immediate successor in mind.
"She has been one of the pillars of fashion for many years and we will miss her. She has extraordinary eyes for spotting new talent and her vision always proved to be correct."
Oscar de la Renta
"Now that this is a public issue the search will get more intense," he said. "A great deal of the decision would be from the store group. Karen Katz [ceo of the Neiman Marcus stores division] and her team have to talk about it. We're going to look for the best person out there, whether it's someone inside our company or out there. Filling Joan's shoes is not going to be an easy task."
According to sources, Herbert Mines Assoc. will be awarded the search. Possible candidates include Robert Burke, senior vice president of fashion at the Neiman's-owned Bergdorf Goodman; Michael Fink, senior fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, Julie Gilhart, vice president and fashion director of Barneys New York and Ken Downing, vice president of corporate public relations, who does fashion presentations and oversees the store's fashion shows and special events.
"I wouldn't say there's a big talent pool," said Elaine Hughes, president of E.A. Hughes & Co., a search firm here. "Thirty years ago every retailer had fashion directors. I would say the best pool would be the magazines. If you look at Elle and Vogue, the editors really have to have a point of view and an eye."
excerpt wwd.com...
this is MAJOR!!!...
