DALLAS — Mickey Drexler has a newborn baby.
The chairman and chief executive officer of J. Crew Group on Tuesday unveiled the first store for its new Madewell casual brand, a 3,000-square-foot unit at the NorthPark Center mall here. Madewell is the group’s third format after J. Crew and Crewcuts.
“Madewell started as a fun, stimulating idea that has grown into an assortment of great styles that look good now and will look good in five years,” said Drexler, dressed in a dark tailored jacket and dark-rinse denim jeans for an exclusive walk-through on Tuesday. “At the end, it’s all about great style, design, product and attitude.”
Madewell was inspired by a workwear company of the same name founded in 1937 in New Bedford, Mass., and is expected to have up to seven units or more by the end of next year, including a store set to open Sept. 2 in Century City in Los Angeles. Market sources said the brand will open in Manhattan later this year, though Drexler was tight-lipped about openings beyond those already revealed.
A Web site, madewell1937.com, is expected to launch this week, with some looks also available for purchase via a toll-free phone number.
In channeling its retro heritage, the Madewell store features a navy bead-board exterior, white ceramic tile accents, dark hardwood floors and antique wood furnishings, along with padded dressform mannequins. Framed pairs of vintage Madewell pants line the walls.
The front has retro transom-style windows that contain old, school desk chairs, dressforms and Venetian blind window coverings and are merchandised with lots of men’s wear vests and pants, argyle knits, corduroy and velvet jackets and softly washed denim jeans.
Inside, styles include an array of chinos, denim items, fleece, T-shirts, polos and pintucked-shirts, pinstriped henleys and men’s wear-inspired plaid vests, among other looks.
Madewell also has inked several exclusive partnerships with a range of global designers for certain niche fashion categories, including tennis shoe company Springcourt, which will offer an original design of a simple tennis shoe that’s been the French company’s signature since 1936. Philip Crangi, a New York City-based jewelry designer, will feature select pieces from his Giles & Brother line, which is inspired by vintage and estate jewelry.
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“These are not looks for teenagers,” said Drexler, who was at the opening with J. Crew president Jeff Pfeifle. “I think there’s been a real void at retail for subtly timeless clothing with a bit of an edge while still retaining a classic sensibility and integrity.
“Women have told us that they’re tired of spending so much money for hip clothing at expensive boutiques. We think Madewell offers a unique point of view. For me, this store is an act of love for the whole Madewell concept.”
Much like a vintage haberdashery for women, the brand merges the romance and simplicity of a Thirties’ specialty store, including lots of retro design touches, with an edgy take on casual classic styles for women ages 20 and beyond.
The moderately priced merchandise is about 20 to 30 percent lower than J. Crew and spans from $12.50 for a striped cotton tank top to $265 for a washed leather bomber jacket. Many items retail on average for $45 or less, and 80 percent of the assortment costs less than $100.
For example, there are hooded sweatshirts priced from $48; denim jeans in three fits and 10 washes, priced about $68.50 to $125 for premium styles; twill chinos at $58 to $68; wool blazers priced from $198 to $248, and accessories including leather bracelets at $18 to leather satchels for $98.
“I fell in love with the romance, innocence and honesty that Madewell stood for and bought the brand in 2003 just before I joined J. Crew,” said Drexler, who now licenses the brand for $1 a year to J. Crew Group.
Drexler wouldn’t comment on sales projections for the Madewell chain. However, many, though not all, stores in the upscale NorthPark Center mall, which completed a $200 million renovation earlier this year, average around $1,000 a square foot in sales.
In an interview with WWD in May, Drexler hinted the Madewell chain might be poised for big volume.
“I can’t predict what’s going to happen,” said Drexler. “Everybody in the world, including Wal-Mart, started with one store. If I dream about it, I like to think [Madewell] could be a big business. But right now, we look at it day to day. The lower the price point in a business, the bigger it can be.”
The Madewell opening Tuesday was the third major development for J. Crew Group in as many months. Earlier this summer, the $950 million firm launched the children’s fashion chain Crewcuts at NorthPark Center.
In June, the retailer went public on the New York Stock Exchange in the third-largest apparel retailing IPO in history. The offering aimed to raise at least $376 million and was a major triumph for Drexler, 61. At the first day’s closing price, Drexler’s J. Crew stake was worth more than $173 million. He currently holds 12 percent of the company.