Bloomingdale’s Sets “From Italy, With Love” Extravaganza

After a three-and-a-half-decade hiatus, Bloomingdale’s will once again stage a huge import promotion, this time bringing the food, fashion, accessories, fine jewelry, home furnishings, beauty and culture of Italy to its 59th Street flagship in Manhattan, branches around the U.S., online, and in social media, starting Sept. 5.

For the two-month event, titled “From Italy, With Love,” more than 150 brands, including 30 new to the upscale department store such as Isaia menswear, Fendi, Etro and La DoubleJ ready-to-wear, are participating, and there will be 300 exclusive products displayed in the Bloomingdale’s stores and on the website. There will also be pop-up shops, food carts, cooking demonstrations, customizing fashions, installations, classes, trunk shows, activations and panel discussions.

While Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship will be the nexus, with its nine selling floors and with all categories engaged, the 31 other Bloomingdale’s locations will participate to varying degrees, with the larger-volume stores in shopping centers like Aventura, Fla.; Century City in Los Angeles; South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Tyson’s Corner in McLean, Va., transformed the most.

Like its 150th anniversary celebration in 2022, “From Italy, With Love” is another occasion for Bloomingdale’s to demonstrate its buying power and retail theatrics. It also marks a first significant test by the retailer’s new chief executive officer Olivier Bron to deliver on his promise that Bloomingdale’s will “dream big” to create larger, highly innovative events thereby becoming more engaging and experiential.

“Selling products is not enough. We have to bring more to our customers,” Bron said in an exclusive interview with WWD on Friday. “It’s actually part of the Bloomingdale’s DNA to develop these big events, to celebrate brands and develop new experiences. This is where Bloomingdale’s has demonstrated a fantastic know-how. We want to do bigger things now, things that are very, very exciting.”

Events like the upcoming Italian campaign, Bron said, “can drive strong commercial success. These campaigns are very important for our customers, for our existing brand partners, for new brand partners, and they are also important from a Bloomingdale’s brand positioning perspective.”

“‘From Italy, With Love’ is really going to set us apart during New York Fashion Week and through the fall fashion season generally,” said Frank Berman, Bloomingdale’s chief marketing officer.

According to Kevin Harter, Bloomingdale’s vice president of integrated marketing, “‘From Italy, With Love’ is more than a campaign. It’s a culmination of iconic brands and strategically handpicked partners, coming together to celebrate the beauty that is Italy through fashion, design, cuisine and culture.”

“From Italy, With Love” in some ways seems a throwback to the era of Marvin Traub, the late former chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale’s, who through the ’70s and ’80s energized the selling floors (mostly at the 59th Street flagship) with a long string of exotic import promotions from different countries and regions of the world; some were extremely successful at drawing huge crowds and bumping up sales, while a few others were money losers.

Traub’s import promotions revolved around exclusive and rare products, such as introducing to the U.S. centuries-old ceremonial robes from Beijing’s Forbidden City for a 1980 China promotion. Or for the “Mediterranean Odyssey” in 1987, he imported a $15,000 Christian Lacroix Provencal-inspired satin dress even though the store didn’t sell couture. Traub sent some of his team to Kennedy Airport to pick up the dress, with security.

It was typical for Traub’s buyers to spend weeks scouring ateliers in fashion capitals and off the beaten path in advance of these import promotions. If the team couldn’t find enough products, Traub had the merchandise made. The import promotions became a tradition, kicking off the fall fashion season with designers, celebrities and even heads of state visiting Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship, and burnishing the store’s reputation for innovative merchandising and excitement. Traub’s last country promotion was a celebration of Italy in 1991, called Tempo d’Italia.

But Bron stated that “From Italy, With Love,” and future campaigns, are taking Bloomingdale’s “to another level” and that the upcoming campaign and subsequent ones will be more sweeping and engaging than those of the past.

He told WWD that after “From Italy, With Love,” Bloomingdale’s has a big holiday campaign scheduled. He also said that major events will be staged annually, though not necessarily revolving around country imports. The Bloomingdale’s team is already working on next year’s program. Bron declined to disclose the nature of it.

He also declined to indicate the dollar value of the buy for “From Italy, With Love,” other than saying, “This is a very, very strong investment for us, but we definitely think that it’s creating value for the Bloomingdale’s brand on a mid- to long-term perspective. I really want Bloomingdale’s to go bigger.”

In Marvin Traub’s era, planning an import promotion involved many trips overseas for months. But such endeavors are done differently nowadays, to some extent remotely, and according to Bloomingdale’s officials, the planning for this particular campaign did not involve extra traveling by the retailer’s team beyond the normal schedule. Still, it was a complete team effort, calling for buyers, fashion directors, store operators, visual merchandisers, marketing and public relations personnel to all step up.

“In the future, Bloomingdale’s will keep organizing these great and exciting events and next year we will have another campaign. That’s for sure,” said Bron. “But you know, right after Italy, we have a big, big holiday season campaign as well. We’re investing more in these events, because we think it differentiates us from the competition, that it’s very relevant in the current competitive landscape, and that makes a lot of sense for our customers and for our partners, and also for the evolution of Bloomingdale’s brand positioning.”

Bron, in an earlier interview with WWD, spelled out other specific strategies and ideas for taking Bloomingdale’s to new heights, emphasizing increased localization of events, merchandising and marketing; generating greater cross-category shopping; leveraging data more intensively, and building up the accessories business while maintaining rtw as the core. He stressed improved “storytelling” and experiences to elevate the essence and breadth of the most important brands being sold.

To further that objective, Bron said the designer floors — four and five — at the 59th Street flagship in Manhattan will be renovated. Regarding rtw, he said, “It’s definitely where we keep investing and developing in terms of bringing new brands in, elevating the brand mix, and giving it a bit more space to bring the best of these categories to our customers.” The renovations of the fourth and fifth floors “will illustrate this focus we’re having in our home base of rtw and developing the other categories,” he said.

The planning for “From Italy, With Love” began in earnest about a year ago when Bron joined Bloomingdale’s as CEO, succeeding Tony Spring, who became chairman and CEO of Macy’s Inc., the parent corporation of Bloomingdale’s.

But as Berman told WWD, “Collectively as an organization we started thinking about this two years ago. While the idea and some of the work began before Olivier’s arrival, he challenged us to think bigger, to elevate what we were doing, and make it more dramatic. He definitely put his stamp on it.

“The entire company is really contributing to this campaign,” Berman added. “Even our restaurants have been adapted with Italian dishes and drinks. This campaign covers all aspects of every family of business that we are in. This isn’t just about presenting wonderful fashion and home product. It’s also about creating a fun, inviting and social atmosphere.”

Naturally, the Italian campaign is the lead story in Bloomingdale’s fashion catalogue, which arrives at homes during the first week of September. The campaign also has an 80-second video that was shot in Rome with models in exclusive styles against the backdrop of the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum and other historic landmarks of the city. It all works to capture a romantic mood, Berman said. There will be shorter versions of the video running on social media channels such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube as well as connected TV. Additionally, Bloomingdale’s will have a microsite online devoted to the event. “The campaign will live in our stores, online, in print, digital and outdoor as well,” Berman said.

Berman would not disclose the marketing budget for the Italian campaign, other than saying that it’s the retailer’s most expensive campaign of 2024, and is costing more than what Bloomingdale’s spent on marketing its 150th anniversary two years ago.

Asked why Bloomingdale’s decided to spotlight Italy at this time, Bron replied, “When you look at the products we’re selling, the way of life, our aesthetic, it’s makes a lot of sense to celebrate Italy. Our teams are experts in developing these kind of events, and they showed that recently with the 150th anniversary, but we’ve pushed it this year to the next level.”

Bron acknowledged that “From Italy, With Love” reflects some continuity from what’s been done in the past. On the other hand, “This is going to be way bigger, more impactful with more experiences, newness, exclusives and collaborations,” the CEO said. “The way customer behavior is evolving now, shoppers are seeking new products, new brands, special services and experiences. So we are really pushing and bringing these campaigns to a next level, matching current customer behavior.

“It’s going to be extremely spectacular,” Bron said. From the time you first enter the 59th Street flagship on Sept. 5, “You will be surprised, and then you will come upon one surprise after another surprise. Whatever category you’re visiting, whatever the floor you’re on, you will see the flavor of Italy [encompassing] services, exclusive products, animations, activations, etcetera, from the lower floor to the upper floors. Every single floor will be customized around this Italian campaign.” He also believes the campaign will equally evoke an element of surprise and discovery on the Bloomingdale’s e-commerce website.

Among the highlights of the campaign is fine jewelry, which will be spotlighted with a “full suite” of one-of-a-kind jewels, available only at Bloomingdale’s, from Crivelli and Marco Bicego, Ippolita, Roberto Coin and other brands. A 52-carat collection has been designed by Alberto Milani, featuring a necklace, bracelet, ring and earrings.

In fashion, there will be exclusive pieces from Max Mara, Ferragamo and Valentino, as well as a one-of-a-kind dress designed by Giambattista Valli, inspired by his love of travel.

Officials also indicated that men’s tailoring and premium selections from Canali, Corneliani, Armani, Tod’s, Ferragamo and Peserico, among others, will be part of the program.

Isaia will launch a bespoke made-to-measure service as a part of an Italian master tailor event. Bloomingdale’s private label, The Men’s Store, will introduce exclusive Italian leather accessories and tailored suits crafted with Loro Piana fabric.

As a central component of the 59th Street programming, Salone del Mobile.Milano will pay tribute to Italian design. The flagship will host a special exhibition with an installation titled “Italian Design: From Classic to Contemporary,” showcasing products from 23 Italian brands, all exhibitors of the Salone del Mobile.Milano trade fair. Architect Ferruccio Laviani is curating the installation, which took inspiration from Giorgio de Chirico’s metaphysical piazzas.

There will be a host of exclusive collaborations with AC Milano x Off White, Rag & Bone x Lucali, Dave’s New York x Roy Rogers and Kartell x Missoni. In addition, 10 new brands including Gallia Knitwear, Joshua Sanders, Il Bisonte, Artico, The Andamane, Vibi Venezia and Paris Texas, will be featured within the assortment.

An Il Mercato 1,600-square-foot marketplace will be at 59th Street, on the main floor, selling gourmet sauces, homemade pasta, olive oils and coffee curated by region, from De’Longhi, Il Buco Vita and Giadzy, and “Unfortunate Portrait T-shirts” packaged in pizza boxes.

“It’s truly remarkable to see ‘From Italy, With Love’ come to life following such extensive planning and strategic collaboration across the organization,” said Berman. “The campaign serves as a unique opportunity to unite iconic brands, tastemakers and partners, creating a celebration of culture, design and style.”

While the event commences Sept. 5, on Sept. 7, all stores will host kick-offs, putting “From Italy, With Love” into high gear, with the launch of food carts, activations and demos across the chain. There will even be a temporarily remade facade on 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, inspired by small towns along the Amalfi Coast.

Here’s a sample of some of what’s ahead on 59th Street during the campaign: