NEW YORK — There was an upbeat mood at Fashion Coterie Wednesday, with buyers and exhibitors praising the traffic, and novelty prints complementing the now standard fare of solid neutrals.
Ending its three-day run today, the show was split between two venues — the Show Piers on the Hudson River and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center — due to ongoing construction at the Piers. Organizer ENK International provided shuttle service between the sites and buyers weren’t complaining.
“I love the Javits center,” said Stacy Yancey, owner of the Abbey Road boutique in The Woodlands, Tex. “I’ve been coming for years and this is a huge improvement over the Piers. It has a very airy atmosphere.”
Yancey said her open-to-buy was down after an unusually cold winter in Texas that has slowed spring buying, but that didn’t stop her from finding strong pieces to purchase.
“This is the best Coterie in years,” said Janine Blain, director of the West Coast office for The Doneger Group. “There’s so much newness and freshness, and there’s a more clear direction for buyers. I love all of the novelty in knitwear and outerwear, and the prints in dresses.”
Novelty and prints were strong at the show. Orla Kiely did well with its cutlery-printed bags and its lamp shade-printed dresses that wholesale for around $200.
Los Angeles-based Eva Franco also saw interest in its signature novelty dresses that wholesale from $80 to $225. “We’ve been busy the whole time and people are actually writing,” said Kelly Newfield, assistant designer of the line.
Other buyers were waiting to place orders.
“We aren’t wowed yet — there’s still a lot of Empire-waist baby-doll dresses that I am ready to see leave,” said Valerie Levine, buyer for the boutique Contact in Westchester County. “I am hoping to see more things that are feminine, with shape to them.”
Olivia Andonian, owner of the New York-based Linea O line, which wholesales from $44 to $115, found that buyers were looking for the return of the body.
“Sexy things are selling — soft fabrics, flattering cuts, pinks,” Andonian said. “But steel and black are also doing well — people aren’t necessarily looking for color.”
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Despite the plethora of patterns, monochromatic neutrals continued to sell strongly. A buyer from Loehmann’s said the store was looking for tunics that serve as tops or dresses, particularly in black, gray and beige.
Neutral shades like oatmeal and gray were bestsellers for the New York-based knit brand Margaret Loves, which reported that buyers were interested in its higher-end sweaters that wholesale for around $400. Short, solid-color dresses, wholesaling for around $200, in black or white, have been hits for Cynthia Rowley. Sara O’Connell, director of sales, said traffic was good in quantity and quality — stores included Searle and Intermix.
Downstairs at the new Fresh section reserved for new exhibitors, business was slower.
“I am hoping people are going upstairs now, but still saving enough money for new designers,” said Tiffany Dekel, designer for the Israeli label Ann Dee by Tiffany Dekel.
Ashley Sedwick, national sales manager for the new Robin Howe line, which wholesales from $29 for a cut-and-sew piece to $249 for leather, said she would have preferred to be part of the normal Coterie show.
“We probably aren’t getting the same traffic as the rest of Coterie, but it’s still great exposure,” Sedwick said. “A lot of people don’t know this exists down here, which is a shame because there are a lot of great brands and we all need a chance.”
Not everyone lamented the placement. Heaven’s For Everyone, which used its first day to show the clothes on 15 models rather than hang them on traditional rails, reported strong sales. Its hoodies were a favorite, particularly a zip-up, rabbit-fur-lined version that wholesaled for $96.
“It’s not the same upstairs as down here, but the quality outweighs any lack of quantity,” said Heaven’s For Everyone creative director Alan Rohwer.
Not all new lines were relegated to the Fresh section. Karta, a Los Angeles company being launched for fall, enjoyed the upstairs Coterie section, where its booth was busy with buyers interested in the novelty Seventies-inspired dresses that wholesale for $98 to $148.
Rufus, which has an established men’s business but is introducing a line of women’s shirts and shirtdresses, wrote 20 new accounts its first day at Coterie, according to designer April Singer.
“I feel like we are in the women’s business now,” Singer said.