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Sean John, the high fashion urban clothing line designed and owned by world renowned music artist and producer Sean "Puffy" Combs, opened its first hip shop-in-shop at Bloomingdale's New York August 12,1999. Bloomingdale's New York is probably the leading fashion store in America and this in-store boutique represents Sean John's first shop-in-shop in the US and abroad. With this year's sales projected at million, the line has leapt beyond all industry forecasts. Featuring a dark ash wood shelving with brushed stainless steel supporting beams and frosted signature glass, the shop also sports a flat screen television monitor showing Sean "Puffy" Combs' latest videos. It comprises 400 square feet and is located in the Men's Department of the 59th and Lexington Street store where Mr. Combs appeared at a highly publicized, celebrity launch sponsored by Vanity Fair magazine last March.
	"We are creating a flagship for the collection, and this is a major commitment to our customers and to this highly important retailer," says Jeffrey Tweedy, Executive Vice President of Sean John. The next shop-in-shop is scheduled to open at Macy's Herald Square on August 27, 1999, followed by Bloomingdale's Beverly Center, CA on September 3, 1999. Both, approximately 600 square feet, will be consistent with the Bloomingdale's New York shop. Tweedy added, "We are projecting to build 25 shop-in-shops within the next two years. This is our way of conveying our image while at the same time maximizing retail sales."
Combs shook the New York fashion season out of the doldrums with a celebrity-packed catwalk bash in Bryant Park.The fashion flock had no doubt about Sean John last night: In money terms, this collection is a winner. Three years after its launch, Puff Daddy's "fashion house" is predicting sales of million for 2001. The naughty rapper's talent to turn everything he touches into gold already seems akin to American lifestyle icon Ralph Lauren. If Puffy could stay out of jail and out of trouble, he might just build an empire for this millennium. The live-cast event bristled with security men decked in shiny mohair suits positioned at every second aisle seat. Scores of PR peons hustled the guests into their places - Stephen Baldwin, Tommy Hilfiger, rappers Bobby Brown and Busta Rhymes and the leggy Destiny's Child.
	A giant video backdrop showed a confusing montage of images, everything from Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, Jr., inner city riots, to Mick Jagger, Bob Marley and clips from Jennifer Lopez's latest video. Sean's squeeze had to miss the show to tape "Saturday Night Live" a few blocks north, an excuse she also invoked last season. The show ended with a full blast "I'm Still Standing," as a Maya Angelou quote appeared on the screen: "You may write me down in history with your bitter twisted lies." However, this Fall 2001 Sean John collection was as rambling as its audio-visual effects. At the show's mid-point, Puffy lowered the volume with three Savile Row-style three-piece suits, ideal attire for his two attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Ben Brafman, who sat front row at the show. "It's impressive that he has so many talents," Brafman told FWD.
Added the portly Cochran: "Tonight is just a night of fun for all of us. He's an amazing young man." Halfway through the show a rapper harangued: "All you fashion conservatives out there" are witnessing "a fashion revolution." We're sorry to break this news to Puffy, but it was not. Combs maybe a gifted musician, a born showman, and, allegedly, a gun-toting criminal, but a fashion visionary he is not. In terms of cut and silhouette - the acid test of designer talent - this show had little to offer. Doing XXL gangster rapper outfits in expensive materials.
	That said, Combs certainly understands the richer-the-better zeitgeist of our era. His rousing spectacle earned a standing ovation and the clothes should find plenty of clients well before any winter sales. Puffy dedicated the collection to Gianni Versace, which was apt, if highly aspirational. There was no trace here of Versace's talent, but Gianni would have dug this show
The collection did million in sales in 2000, up from million in 1999, according to company figures. This year sales are projected to be million. In a field crowded with hip-hop collections from the likes of rap moguls such as Russell Simmons (Phat Pharm), Jay-Z (Rocawear), Master P (No Limit), Wu Tang (Wu-Wear) and others, Combs seems to have out-marketed and out-muscled his competitors.
	Like Ralph Lauren and the late Gianni Versace, Combs is selling more than just fancy threads with his name on them. He is selling a lifestyle -- his lifestyle. Indeed, it is a lifestyle of parties in the Hamptons with the rich and famous, and limousine rides with bottles of expensive champagne flowing freely. He offers men the utter freedom to rock such previously unmasculine trappings as white full-length furs, diamond jewelry and tight flashy shirts and pants.
From the start, Combs, who went from Howard University drop-out to multimillionaire in less than five years, seemed to understand how to tap into the desire of hip-hop youths to move on up from the keeping-it-real street atheistic of Timberlands and saggy jeans to the "Playa" lifestyle of flashy, sensual clothes and high living.
	Puffy's interests in fashion range from celebrity attendee at runway shows in Milan, Paris and New York to the fashion icon that he has become with the 1998 launch of his own line of clothing appropriately named Sean John, his first and middle names.
"I didn't want to over use my celebrity," said Puffy. "I just called it Sean John, which is my fashion alter ego and real name."
	The line consists of a tightly edited collection of 32 pieces including shirtings, jeanswear, casual sportswear, and underwear inspired by Puffy's own image. Each of these looks represents a cool, easy, and spirited take on the sportswear arena. Sean John will extend its product line to include outerwear and knitwear for the Fall 1999 collection.
"Understand that we are not in the clothing business for a quick hit, but we are truly committed to the expansion and growth of the men's marketplace and will use all of our resources to ensure that quality in both designs and production of Sean John always exceeds your expectations," said Puffy. "We would ultimately like to have the Sean John line viewed as the Future of Fashion."