Saks Fifth Avenue Launches Multiplatform ‘Empire’ Promo

The luxury retailer is partnering with Fox to produce a multiplatform promotional campaign aimed to bring the network’s hit show “Empire” to life.

The exclusive partnership will produce curated collections from luxury fashion brands and feature “Empire”-themed window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York and Beverly Hills flagships from Sept. 10 to Oct. 7.

“This unprecedented partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue, Alexis Bittar, Cushnie et Ochs, Jimmy Choo and MCM celebrates ‘Empire’s’ mark on the fashion world,” Jeffrey Godsick, Twentieth Century Fox consumer products president, said in a company release.

“The influence ‘Empire’ has had on so many aspects of popular culture proves it has the ingredients to become a stand-alone fashion brand.”

The record-breaking show follows the lives of a record mogul and his family, depicting the ups and downs of their family business, a hip-hop record label.

“‘Empire’ is meaningful and speaks to a wide audience,” Marc Metrick, president of Saks Fifth Avenue, told Women’s Wear Daily. “Different characters have different fashion sensibilities, but they’re all fashionable. Luxury to me is a dream. It’s something that can’t all be real. It starts with these characters and this world people climb into every week.”

Items from designers, which will include fine jewelry from Alexis Bittar, women’s ready-to-wear from Cushnie et Ochs, footwear from Jimmy Choo and handbags and accessories from MCM, will be available nationwide at Saks Fifth Avenue stores, as well as on Saks.com.

Saks Fifth Avenue will also host a launch event in New York this September, as well as men’s luxury suiting events throughout September and October at locations in New York, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Bal Harbour, San Francisco and Atlanta.

“The lines between fashion and entertainment are intersecting,” Metrick said in a statement. “Harnessing this moment is a key underpinning to our strategy as it brings energy and uniqueness to the shopping experience at Saks.”

“This rollout at Saks positions ‘Empire’ as a fashion brand,” Godsick explained to WWD. “As we introduce the next layers we’re doing, such as collaborations and having interesting designers create clothes for the cast, [we’ll have that credibility.]”

This is not the first time Fox has bridged the gap between its television series and the fashion world.

“In the past we’ve done different things in fashion,” Godsick said. “‘The Simpsons’ is the longest-running TV show in history, and we did fashion collections with Jeremy Scott, Joyrich and Eleven Paris.”

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