Earnshaw's

The sun is shining, kids are out of school and pools and beaches are crowded so naturally retailers across the country are unpacking deliveries of… winter coats. Just as swimwear landed in stores in February when bone-chilling temps made donning a skimpy bikini the least appealing idea ever, outerwear is taking up space (and open to buy) when even the thought of bundling up could lead to heat stroke.

Every season the question emerges, why is the product cycle so off? And the query gains more relevance given that shoppers are more buy-now/wear-now oriented than ever.. .

So Stella McCartney is doing a kids’ collection with the Gap (http://tinyurl.com/n4q3wa). Marketing sure makes strange bedfellows.

Though I think her Adidas collection is relatable with broad appeal, I’m not sure those would be the first words I’d use for her main collection. I’ll be interested to see what this line looks like.

It also begs the question of how well some of these other high/low collabs fair at retail (as opposed to in the press). Is a celebrity venture what Gap needs?.