Barneys New York Debuts the Spring 2012 Womens Designer Campaign 'Tree Time'

NEW YORK, February 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

Barneys New York, the luxury specialty retailer, announced today the debut of its Spring 2012 Women's designer campaign: 'Tree Time.' The campaign features Penelope Tree and seven other women, each unique in their talent and beauty. Shot by Mario Sorrenti, Barneys New York selected Penelope Tree to be the face of this season's campaign not only because Tree is a beautiful, free-spirited fashion icon, but also because she is an intelligent, sophisticated woman who inspires greatness in others.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120209/NY50311-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120209/NY50311-b )

First discovered in 1966 by photographer Richard Avedon, Penelope Tree changed the way the fashion world perceived beauty. With her free spirit and unique look, Tree represented all that was the swinging sixties. Although the iconic portraits of Tree taken by Avedon and published in Vogue made her famous as a model, fashion is only one small part of Penelope Tree's multifaceted persona.

Since the 1980s, Tree has been a student of Buddhism and has traveled the world, often for work she does with Lotus Outreach, a non-profit organization that supports the education of vulnerable women and children in Cambodia and India. She has also done extensive work with the Khyentse Foundation, which promotes Buddhist scholarship around the world.

Additionally, under the creative direction of Dennis Freedman, Barneys New York selected eight stylish women to compliment Tree and complete the campaign. Similar to Tree, these women are each unique in their own right. Actress, model, journalist, ballerina-these women bring their own brand of individuality and beauty to the Barneys campaign.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Penelope for the first time last September and was instantly captivated by her," says Barneys CEO Mark Lee. "I thought it would be amazing to have her shot for Barneys' campaign and she very graciously agreed. With the addition of all the other women featured, 'Tree Time' makes a strong statement for the diversity and individualism of modern fashion."

'Tree Time' features the following:

Jane Aldrige

Jane Aldrige, a self-confessed shoe fanatic, began her blog, Sea of Shoes, five years ago at the age of 15 and now counts Kanye West - among almost a million other fashion lovers - as fans. With the help of her mother and fellow blogger, Judy, Aldrige not only covers her favorite shoes but also creates photo vignettes of herself in highly-stylized looks that mix vintage and modern designers.

Sybil Buck

Sybil Buck's career trajectory has been varied and unusual. Her renegade looks made her a runway darling of Gaultier and Saint Laurent in the 90s. She then went on to become a bassist and singer for alternative rock bands. Now living in Topanga Canyon outside of Los Angeles with her husband/fellow musician and daughter, Buck has become a yoga teacher.

Sofia Sanchez

Argentinian by birth, Sanchez came to New York three years ago and worked for Mario Sorrenti before going into art direction for fashion and beauty.

Julia Sarr-Jamois

Fashion editor of the British indie magazine Wonderland, the half-Senegalese half-French London native Julia Sarr-Jamois has become a magnet for street style photographers due to her daring sense of style.

Jessica Saund

A member of the corps de ballet at the American Ballet Theatre and a former member of the English National Ballet, Jessica Saund has been passionate about dance and music for as long as she can remember. Her favorite ballets are romantic to the core.

Sarah Ruba

Model and musician Sarah Ruba is a performer at heart. A native of a small town in Ontario Canada, Ruba moved to New York City and started modeling before beginning the electronic pop band 'New Look" with husband Adam Pavao.

Marine Vacth

This Parisian model and actress fell into her career by chance. At age 14, she was discovered by a modeling agent while standing in a shop to escape the rain, and the same is true of her acting career. She has appeared in the French film "My Piece of the Pie," and recently finished shooting her second film.

'Tree Time' will be prominently featured in the windows of Barneys' Madison Avenue flagship store, and across multiple communications touch points including The Barneys' Spring 2012 mailer (in home on February 16th), the season's advertising campaign, Barneys editorial site "The Window," and on Barneys.com.

About Barneys New York

BARNEYS NEW YORK (Barneys) is a luxury specialty retailer with flagship stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale. Founded as a men's retailer in 1923 in downtown Manhattan it turned into an international arbiter of high style for both women and men in the 1970s and became renowned for discovering and developing new and innovative design talent. Barneys is famous for selling the most intriguing edit from the world's top designers including women's and men's ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and gifts for the home. Barneys' signature sense of wit and style is manifested in its creative advertising campaigns, original holiday themes, and celebrated window displays. Barneys' innovative CO-OP, a mecca for young and emerging designers, was launched in 1985 and has since expanded into a freestanding store concept. Barneys operates more than a dozen CO-OP stores in eight states across the U.S. For more information about Barneys New York please visit http://www.Barneys.com.

Note to Editors:

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A picture accompanying this release is available from the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) at http://www.epa-photos.com