HONG KONG — Graeme Black might be best known for his work as head of women’s ready-to-wear for Salvatore Ferragamo, but the Scottish designer is beginning to make waves with his eponymous label, as well.
The collection made its debut at Lane Crawford earlier this month and Black traveled to Hong Kong with his business partner Jonathan Reed, privately showing the spring/summer line to specially invited customers and greeting guests at a cocktail party in their honor.
“We’re here next to YSL, Givenchy and Lanvin — our little label,” enthused Black about being showcased among Lane Crawford’s other major brands. The duo spent two days meeting the store’s best customers and previewing the collection; the pair was even introduced to popular actress Dodo Cheng during her spring shopping spree at Lane Crawford.
“What’s interesting is that money is never an object,” Black said of the city’s clothes-mad shoppers. “These women don’t need a simple white T-shirt; they want something special and they have been going for all the key pieces.”
Black said many clients even placed special orders for items that Lane Crawford didn’t buy. “People are really responding the way they should — they are getting the details and understanding the quality,” said the designer, whose pieces are all produced in Italy and sold in limited quantities.
For Black and Reed, who finance their business themselves, such opportunities to meet customers are valuable. “We own everything we do, but we don’t own our manufacturing and we aren’t part of a big corporation. We don’t have unlimited funds for advertising. We would rather communicate with the clients directly then spend money on pages,” said Reed, adding, “To create a collection seasonally costs a fortune.”
And that explains why the team has decided to be pragmatic about expansion — be it in the number of pieces per collection or through freestanding stores.
In the past, Reed has worked with Polo Ralph Lauren on store design, an experience that taught him how to create convincing environments on a budget. He now owns the design firm Studio Reed, which specializes in creating interiors for the likes of Queen Rania and King Abdullah of Jordan. Little wonder Reed is sure that Graeme Black stores will be launched in the future.
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“It seemed kind of obvious to us that if we combined his skills as a designer and mine [in creating interiors], we could create something more three-dimensional,” explained Reed. “We have been traveling around to all the major cities and trying to establish which ones we’ll be in. Will [our store] look right in this context? Why not do something very special that isn’t replicated everywhere around the world? We want to give an experience that is tailor-made to the city where we’ll be,” he said.
To that end, stores will be individualized and nearly everything in them will be for sale. “The lamps, the chairs, the clothes — they will all create the total environment,” said Black. “If someone wants the lamp that Jonathan sourced, then they can buy it.”
Still, plans for freestanding stores remain in their infancy. More developed are ideas about the collection itself, which made its debut last winter with a total of 38 pieces. “The first season was so difficult,” recalled Black, whose previous work had been for brands with long-established and clear identities, including Giorgio Armani and Ferragamo. “There was no one to hide behind. I had no one to blame if things weren’t perfect.”
Reed explained, “For now, it’s necessary that we keep it small to create a collection that exists in the future. If we were to align ourselves with any of the much more established businesses that are out there, ours is more like Hermès — quality-led design, not fashion-led design.”
Although he has been designing for 22 years, Black said that he only now was coming into his own. “I am feeling quite confident. There’s still a lot to develop. This is not about disposable fashion,” he said.