NEW YORK — Having spent years developing a loyal following for its products, especially the bright-colored collapsible nylon handbags, Longchamp is freshening up offerings with a ready-to-wear collection this fall.
The 10-piece collection is now being sold at the brand’s SoHo store at 132 Spring Street and will be rolled out in the Paris store next month. Longchamp refers to the 9,830-square-foot store as La Maison Unique.
That will be the extent of the distribution until next season, even though Longchamp has 2,000 points of sale, including 100 of its own freestanding stores, said Sophie de la Fontaine, the company’s artistic director. The collection will be expanded for spring-summer 2007 and will be sold in the brand’s stores in England, Japan, China and other countries.
For now, the fall offerings are coats, parkas and sweaters. There is also a dress made of two Longchamp silk scarves sewn together. Items range from $400 for a sweater to $2,500 for a sheepskin coat. Most of the styles have leather trim or other details that complement the handbag collection.
De la Fontaine explained, “Handbags are our main product, but we thought this was a nice way to give some life to the handbags in the store.”
She is well aware that the company is not following the typical route. “Everybody is doing ready-to-wear and some pieces of handbags,” said de la Fontaine. “We wanted to do the contrast. For us, ready-to-wear is only an accessory to the handbags.”
Like the accessories and small leather goods that Longchamp sells, the rtw is made in France. “The most important thing for us is the look of the product and also the quality of the product. We wanted to have the same level of quality for our ready-to-wear that we have for our handbags,” de la Fontaine said.
Both are designed for “women who are working and traveling and want to be chic in every situation,” she said.
The nylon coats, for example, are not “simple raincoats,” but have many pockets and details similar to the bags, de la Fontaine said. “The main idea is to have a sporty look, but also to have a dressy image,” she said.
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Footwear will be added to the mix for fall-winter 2007. “But there will only be two or three pairs, not a big collection, because our main product will still be handbags,” de la Fontaine said.