NEW YORK: When the Paris-based designer Andrew Gn got a phone call this autumn asking him to stage a personal appearance trunk show from one of his accounts in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was confused.

"I think for the first two seconds I thought: 'Charlotte? Why would I go there?' " Gn recalled. "But then my business partner waved the store's invoices in front of me while I was still on the phone and I said: 'Well, O.K., let's go!' "

The store is Capitol, owned by Laura Vinroot Poole, and it sells an array of designer goods and apparel from upscale brands including Balenciaga, Lanvin and Valentino. Gn, whose clothes sell at $1,500 for a blouse up to $12,000 for an embellished coat or gown, said Capitol's orders to him have increased 15 to 20 percent each season since he started selling to the multi-brand shop three years ago... Lire la suite de l'article de Katie Weisman http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/12/style/rsecond.php?page=1