NEW YORK TRADE SHOWS
FUELING UP FOR FALL
Byline: Miles Socha / Cynthia Redecker / Anne D’Innocenzio / Rosemary Feitelberg
NEW YORK — With spring business in their stores moving at a brisk clip, specialty retailers turned out in good spirits for the round of trade shows held here this week.
Shopping for fall, the independent merchants, who make up much of the patronage at these events, sounded their mantra that they need to differentiate themselves from the ever-tightening phalanx of department stores. But at the same time they seemed confident that the show offerings plus their own merchandising know-how would be providing them with the ammunition they needed, even if there were some complaints about such matters as the current fashion palette — namely, too much gray.’
Individual reports from many of the shows follow.
Fashion Coterie
Enough with the gray already.
That was a common sentiment among specialty buyers checking out the fall 1999 collections at Fashion Coterie, which ended its three-day run Tuesday at the Show Piers on the Hudson.
More than 9,000 buyers attended the show, a 10 percent increase over a year ago, according to show producer ENK International. Approximately 525 exhibitors participated over three piers. Citing a waiting list of more than 150 vendors, ENK said it plans to expand to a fourth pier for the September show.
Most retailers interviewed at the show Tuesday cited strong business at retail, prompting them to increase their budgets for the fall season by up to 20 percent. Exhibitors said they were swamped Sunday and Monday and struggled to service throngs of buyers.
Gianna Clement, a buyer from Lilly Dodson/Escada in Dallas, said she planned to spend 25 percent more to stock the store’s new and fast-growing contemporary department. Interviewed at the busy Ghost booth, Clement said she bought embroidered twinsets, beaded jeans and peasant-style tops. “My department is very item-driven,” she said. “I look for the icing on the cake from each line — items that are more special.”
Clement was among retailers who, unprompted, talked about gray overkill. She said her customers are already beginning to tire of the shade for spring. For her, olive greens and magentas looked more appealing.
Other gray-weary retailers said they would put their money on camouflage tones, wine and claret shades and what most called steel blue.
One thing Clement hadn’t found was a new pants silhouette. But she planned to stock up on a hot category she called “gym casual” or “yoga clothes.” She said sweatshirts and sweatpants from Todd Oldham Jeans sell out as soon as they hit the sales floor.
Heidi Friedland, owner of Distractions, an 800-square-foot boutique in Aspen, Colo., said she was disappointed in the fall offerings, finding too much emphasis on gray and overly decorated clothing. “I’m liking some of the cleaner things,” she said.
She had praise for Anna Sui, Demoo Parkchoonmoo, Tse’s new Surface label and a new knitwear line called Nell based on baby alpaca.
Other hot resources mentioned by retailers included Catherine, Diane by Diane Von Furstenberg, Yigal Azrouel and Maxfield Parrish. Mari Stewart, vice president at the Hawaiian retailer Rafael, said she was impressed by the fall collections. “The colors are really good,” she said, “and I think the clothes are very wearable. They’re listening to the customer more.”
Stewart said fashion no longer seems stuck on aggressive, urban styles and is introducing colors like pink. “There’s more of a feminine side, a prettiness that appeals to a large portion of the population,” she said. “The customer is ready for color.”
Scott Baskin, president of Mark Shale, the eight-unit, Chicago-based chain, however, said the fall collections could use a little more color, innovation and differentiation. “We’ve seen lots of cashmere, lots of gray and lots of sweaters,” he said. “It’s a continuation of what started last fall.”
Baskin said he’s buying into a look that is closer to the body, younger and more casual in attitude. “Our customer is wearing less structured items to work,” he said.
But he had praise for the high caliber of exhibitors at Fashion Coterie. “There’s plenty to buy,” he said. “It’s been a great show, and we need lots of time to do it.”
Max Martinez, owner of Max, a two-unit specialty store in Boulder and Denver, Colo., said he was previewing fall before heading off to Europe and finishing his buy in Los Angeles. But he shopped with confidence, upping his seasonal budget 20 percent.
“We’ve had a very warm winter, so people are getting into buying spring early,” he said. “And the success of spring is because I have so much color in everything.” He said he expected the fall season to continue to be driven by items like cashmere sweaters and shearlings.
Vendors said they were happy with the heavy traffic and flow of paper.
“We met our figures on the first day, so the rest is gravy,” said Karen Erickson, a partner in Showroom Seven.
“The show’s been amazing,” said Ed Mandelbaum, principal of The Aubrey Co., exhibiting Rozae Nichols, Stephen DiGeronimo, Lluis Genero, Aquah, M Collection and a Month of Sundays. “The stock market’s up. I think there’s confidence in the air right now.”
Mandelbaum said buyers were most interested in casual styles, knits and sweaters and soft fabrics like stretch cashmere. “People want things they can run around in,” he said.
Mod Black, account executive for Rialto Collection and Tru Supply, agreed that “soft dressing” is what’s attracting buyers’ attention. “Everything is very soft, flowing and feminine,” she said.
Bestsellers at Rialto included mohair-blend knit dresses, sharkskin shirt jackets with mandarin collars and melange sweaters and skirts in wine and plum shades. Buyers also reacted favorably to fashion-forward silhouettes, including asymmetrical apron dresses and long skirts with twisted hems, Black said.
Style Industrie Picky, picky, picky.
Faced with increasingly selective shoppers, specialty stores attending the Style Industrie trade show here at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center were in search of novelty items and investment pieces such as unusual jackets, cashmere blend sweaters and hand-knit sweaters.
If finding what isn’t already in department stores wasn’t enough, boutique buyers said there is the added task of offering special services to build sales.
“It takes hard work — night and day. We do everything but stand on our heads,” said Gay Muenchrath, owner of GM Clotheshorse, a 5,300-square-foot store in Wichita, Kan. “Actually, as an independent store, we have the advantage of really giving to the consumer. We deliver products to homes, offices and nursing homes, we will stay open late by appointment and we have two seamstresses on staff.”
For the first time, this spring the retailer plans to have a pianist perform on Friday afternoons. Providing a more welcoming environment should help increase sales, which are running slightly ahead of last year.
Muenchrath said she was looking for hand-knit sweaters, funky jackets, unusual bags, necklaces, belts and “anything to really catch the eye.”
Style Industrie gave her the option to check out 700 sportswear and accessories lines at the three-day show, which closed Monday.
Having opened Lulu’s, a 1,500-square-foot store in Beaumont, Tex., last fall, Mary Lou Fleming said she was eyeing contemporary skirts and pants, “dressy little suits and dresses” and accessories. Unlike other parts of the country that are embroiled in casual dress codes, in Beaumont residents prefer to dress up for their busy social calendars, including volunteer work, she said.
Part of the reason sales are doing “really well” is that Lulu’s sales associates routinely suggest coordinating looks when customers select an item, she said.
Minna Robinson, who runs her own marketing and buying consulting firm in Arlington Heights, Ill., was in search of lines to recommend to clients, and said she liked the looks of American Groove’s novelty T-shirts and sweatshirts and Joseph A.’s underpinnings. She is also developing marketing packages for specialty stores.
Having until recently co-owned a 2,500-square-foot specialty store for 10 years, Robinson said she developed a loyal customer base by offering trunk shows and in-store appearances by a yoga instructor, who taught pre-shopping relaxation techniques.
“Customers want a little show. They want to know you care about them,” she said. “The faster the world moves, the more we want to connect.”
Mary Louise and Willem van der Wildem, owners of La Papillon, a 4,400-square-foot store in Rumson, N.J., said they planned to look for fall silk and cashmere knit and wool boucle separates that retail around $200. The pair looked for black, navy and gray styles from Composition, Review and Rodier. Encouraging customers to accessorize their existing wardrobes instead of buying new core pieces has helped increase sales by 15 percent, Mary Louise van der Wildem said. “When people say they’re going to something and need something new, I say, ‘Why? Don’t you have something we can build on?”‘ she said. “I don’t think people want to feel like you’re pushing things down their throats.’
During in-store fashion shows, models show how adding a jacket or accessories to an outfit can carry it from day into evening, she said. Simplifying dressing also makes packing easier for La Papillon’s well-traveled customers, she added.
Fred Wallhauser, owner of Sweaters Etc., a four-store operation, said he was looking for basic fall sweaters and fill-in summer items from such firms as Wild Cat Canyon, Beyond Threads and Northern Isles. With stores in resort areas — Stockbridge, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and Manchester, Vt. — Sweaters Etc. begins selling fall sweaters in June. Cardigans account for 90 percent of the retailer’s sales, with long-sleeved sweaters and jackets accounting for the remainder, Wallhauser said.
Finding new resources and fleece items were priorities at the show, he said. Shoppers, including many day-trippers, increasingly have become more selective, he said.
Among the exhibitors, two newcomers, Jill McGowan, a Portland, Me.-based shirt maker, and Woodland Waders, a Vineyard Haven, Mass.-based sportswear maker, said they were pleased with the amount of new business they picked up.
McGowan, who previously worked in design at Badgley Mischka and pattern making for Hathaway Shirts, said she started her own business after she couldn’t find high-quality women’s shirts. With the help of her mother and two of her sisters, McGowan increased her 200-store account base by 20 at the show. A Tencel and silk shirt that ties at the back and at the sleeves, a Sea Island broadcloth cotton shirt and a pink polkadot shirt with princess seams and mock French cuffs were bestsellers at the show. Retailers didn’t flinch at the $98 wholesale price tag on many shirts, McGowan said.
“There’s been a huge shakeout in the industry. People who deliver and provide quality products have survived,” she said.
Woodland Waders opened 24 accounts at the show, according to Valerie Beggs, owner. Buyers were most interested in Supplex canoe pants — high-waisted pants with suspenders — at $68, a coordinating zip-front jacket at $93 and a felted merino wool sweater jacket at $160 with a wrap apron skirt at $82.
Executives at River Road, a Sag Harbor, N.Y.-based company that makes sportswear under its own label as well as the Fork label, said many buyers wrote orders Saturday at the show. Stores were most interested in Fork, especially its chambray dresses, V-neck shirts with three-quarter-length sleeves, pants and long skirts.
Showroom
Buyers, many of them riding on a strong spring season, came to Showroom looking to continue the momentum for fall, placing orders for novelty sweaters and fleece as well as classics.
Showroom, which ended its three-day session on Tuesday at the Rihga Royal Hotel, showcased about 77 lines, spiced up with some first-timers and lines from Canada, such as Simon Chang of Montreal and Hammer Enterprises of Toronto. Retailers often had very specific ideas on their shopping lists.
“I am looking for classic-looking garments,” said Susan E. Hannah, owner of Hannah of Northampton, Mass., who purchased merino wool outfits, mohair sets and acetate and cotton sportswear from Sally Bridge, a resource based in Hadley, Mass. “I appeal to women from age 40 to 65.”
Roz Lichterman, owner of Gem’N’I, Cherry Hill, N.J., said that she was on the hunt for upscale sweater lines. Last year, the store, which had only offered jewelry, expanded into apparel. “My business is doing well,” she said. She had just purchased chenille sweaters from Hana Kroa, Beverly Farms, Mass.
Cheryl Chirchirillo, who runs the store Valentina in Milwaukee with her daughter Gina, said that she was out to buy “some avant-garde soft dressing,” but said that she was a little bit disappointed in the offerings. She did, however, pick up red silk striped shirts and skirts from Krista Larson Designs.
“Business has been strong,” Chirchirillo said. “The weather has been mild. I am seeing a lot of people traveling, and so our resort business was up.”
Jill Kellerman, a buyer at IEI Co., a Japanese catalog with an office in Princeton, N.J., was taking notes at Cindy Owings Designs, Bozeman, Mont.
“I am interested in buying a lot of color and fleece,” she said.
Another catalog buyer — Susan Bratman, owner of Under the Canopy, Randolph, N.J., was scouring for natural fibers — wool and silk. The company is only two years old, she noted, and the catalog’s circulation is now about 1.2 million.
Many exhibitors said they were bullish about meeting their show sales targets.
DiAnne G. Jones, business manager at Fun Fashions Inc., Macon, Miss., which was showing two lines — What’s Up, a linen collection, and Diane L. Evans, a nonlinen line — expected to book about $100,000 in orders. Under the Diane L. Evans label, black and khaki knits did well, and linen pants under What’s Up were the highlights.
By mid-Monday, the company had picked up seven new accounts. One goal, Jones said, is to expand its Northeast base, which currently only accounts for about 15 percent of overall sales. “We have a very strong Southern base,” she said, adding that she would like the Northeast area to account for 50 percent of the overall business.
Sales representatives Marlene Shift and Judy Richmond at Simon Chang said that they had booked at least 15 new accounts. This is the third year that the company has been selling to the U.S. Currently, about 25 percent of its business is from the U.S. Some of the looks that did well were reefer jackets in viscose and polyester, and boiled wool tops, shown with netted wool skirts, they said.
Heidi Arvin, president of Boo, a fleece resource, Minneapolis, said she hoped to take in orders of $50,000 to $100,000 this week. About 75 percent of the business would be from existing accounts, but the company had picked up about five or six new accounts, she said.
Arvin said that patchwork bags and jackets were standouts among buyers.
Pacific Designer Collection, Atelier
The verdict at the Pacific Designer Collection and the Atelier shows held at the Flatotel International hotel was that wearable art has come into its own as a category.
“When we first started doing this [the Pacific Designer Collection] show 13 years ago, people thought of us as just a bunch of girls from California selling their wares,” said jewelry designer Pam Barry. “But now we are being taken much more seriously because of the niche that we are filling.”
The two shows ran concurrently for four days through Tuesday, drawing buyers from high-end specialty boutiques on the hunt for one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces.
Pacific Designer Collection, which is in its 27th season and takes place twice a year, showed the works of 16 designers hailing from the West Coast. “Because my store is an art-to-wear boutique, I am looking for one-of-a kind pieces,” said Terrie Alexander, who was buying both apparel and accessories for her 1,600-square-foot store in Winter Park, Fla. “Women who come to my store get turned off by the racks of clothing. If a customer sees one interesting piece, she will be inspired to create her own individual looks. And I can always order more pieces from the artisans that I work with.”
Items drawing attention at the show included block-printed Gustav Klimt-inspired silk velvet robes from Catherine Bacon, devore and panne velvet tops from Kay Chapman and shibori patterns — a Japanese dyeing technique — on silks, linens and cottons at Mizono.
“We select the designers here for the timelessness of their designs, but who at the same time offer something sophisticated and contemporary,” said jewelry designer Susan Green, who is also public relations director for the show. “But the designers have to not only demonstrate expert craftsmanship in their work, but also have to have experience in the marketplace.”
A few floors down was Atelier, in its seventh season, showcasing 35 designers from various regions of the country. Cut and slashed silk, hand-woven chenilles, appliqued wools and hand-painted silks topped the list of fabrics being sought by boutique buyers. Vintage-inspired handbags, with original Bakelite and metal frames and new leathers with unusual treatments were also a big draw.
Apparel vendors reported satisfaction with business generated at the show, but some jewelry exhibitors said they could have used a little more action.
“This show isn’t ideal for jewelers because many of the buyers who come here are focused on knitwear,” said Sasha Pyle, designer and co-owner of Abrego Jewelry based in Santa Fe. “We could stand a bit more business, but buyers did say that if they carried limited edition jewelry they would consider us. We do enjoy the exposure.” Indeed, many buyers attending Atelier were looking for handmade knits as well as accent pieces.
“If I add this scarf to my assortment, this will be a statement of good taste,” said Charlene Rosen, owner of Mr. Charles’ Shop based in State College, Pa., referring to block-printed silk velvet scarves she found at Mary Jane. “Women love things that are different and that can only be found in specialty shops.”
Mary Jane Sarvis, owner of Mary Jane, noted the emerging market for one-of-a-kind pieces. “Women no longer want to be wearing the same thing as everyone else,” said Sarvis.”We are really seeing a lot of interest in high-end items and items that are drop-dead elegant. The only places to find those are through specialty venues like this one.”
Tracy Delaney, who was buying for the two shops she owns, Augustina and Augustina Leathers, in Carmel, Calif., was enthusiastic about the event, noting she was on the lookout for new and expensive items, in particular, hand-woven knits. “There is a lot of interesting and very unique stuff here. I think it is the best show in eight years,” she said.
Meg Johnson, a designer of hand-painted silk scarves, dresses and other items, who was participating in the Atelier show for the first time, commented on the convenience of the show.
“It gives designers like me the kind of stability they need at the same time that it facilitates business, because both shows share the same buyers,” said Johnson, who is based in Santa Fe. Organizers for both shows said attendance totaled over 300 buyers during the four days.