Forget the understated sophistication of the last few seasons — novelty is back in the better knit department.
Prints, hardware and mixed fabrics abound for fall, along with chunkier gauge sweaters that command a higher price point, better knit vendors said.
“There seems to be a big difference in what’s new: how we take our core classics and twist them a little, with the collar, with embellishment,” said Hank Sinkel, president of Hampshire Designers Inc. “Everyone is looking for freshness and newness. We want to excite the customer.”
Hampshire’s portfolio includes Hampshire Studio, Designer Originals, Macy’s proprietary brand Mercer Street Studio and the contemporary-better line Spring + Mercer, which is launching for fall. The latter wholesales for $18.50 to $28.50, and the other three go for $10.50 to $16.50.
Across the board, the Empire waist and A-shapes are important silhouettes, along with bat wings and balloon sleeves. Fine gauge luxe fabrics with cashmeres and angoras complement a new element: chunkier knits found in cardigans, sweater jackets and swingy cropped toppers.
“There’s more sweater sweaters — it’s not just fine-gauge anymore,” said Elan Eliau, founder and chief executive officer of Joseph A. “This is not replacing any of the business. It’s just adding to it.”
Joseph A. is also augmenting its line with higher quality pieces, priced 30 to 40 percent more than the traditional offerings. “It’s great to see the stores excited to take it to the next level,” Eliau said.
Joseph A. isn’t alone in pushing up the price and quality level of the better knit department. HMS Productions Inc. is launching Nubby for fall at Macy’s and Dillard’s. The line, which will wholesale for $19 to $39 compared with Cable & Gauge’s $14 to $24 range, is anticipated to reach $4 million in wholesale volume for fall and holiday, HMS president Lou Breuning said.
“As manufacturers, we are always challenged to raise the bar,” he said. “With Nubby, we are taking it one step up.”
Nubby is expanding the yarns with five-, seven- and nine-gauge blends that create sweaters more than knits.
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In the Cable & Gauge line, gray has replaced brown as the color of the season. Graphic patterns and animal prints are popping up, particularly in black and white, and hardware and belt details are mainstays.
If the number of trends seems high, it’s because the layering trend necessitates different types of knits to be used in different ways.
“Everything is about layering up,” said Ellen Dawson, executive vice president of August Silk. “It gives us lots of opportunities, from ultrafine underpinnings to coarse-gauge cardigans, which encourages all different gauges of knitwear.”
For ultrafine fabrics, there are mock turtlenecks, traditional turtlenecks and cowl-necks, and for the thicker fabrics there are cardigans and swingy vestinas — or “little dresses.”
“Our customer rebelled against the traditional tunic,” Dawson said. “It didn’t work for her body type, but the vestina has a bit more of an A-line top and swing to it.”
August Silk sweaters wholesale from $15 to about $25, and the vestinas wholesale for $29 to $39. The line is sold nationally at Dillard’s, Federated Department Stores and specialty stores.
In addition, with the bottoms market getting quieter and more architectural for fall, the emphasis moves to tops. Tops-to-bottoms sales ratios have gone from a traditional two or three to one, to five to six to one, Dawson said.
But better knit customers still want perceived value, so the twofer is here to stay. “But twofers are going from simple collars and cuffs to chiffon,” said David Alpern, Ralsey Group Ltd. account executive and Ralsey brand manager.
Ralsey knits wholesale for $18 to $28 and are sold at Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Belk and Macy’s.
The mixing of textures and fabric mediums is another fall trend. “There’s even shape when it comes to texture — directional rib and rib mixing provide another layer of shape,” Alpern said.
The ability to combine blends and trends is helped partly by the development of manufacturing technology, Eliau said. “We are mixing trends within a piece to give the fashion basic a little attitude,” he added.
Shine — from charmeuse to crystals — is one manifestation of that attitude. “Last year people were down on shine, as a knee-jerk reaction to the period when everything was high shine,” Eliau said. “Now it’s coming back.”
With the return of shine, animal prints and, finally, color, last fall’s sobriety will be a memory in a few months.
“She — the ultimate customer — is tired of the neutrals and she is ready to put some color into her wardrobe,” Dawson said. “Retailers are pushing us to have a wear-now palette that can be worn now. Ultimately, this should help us improve sell-throughs.”