While the fashion industry has been buzzing about value for the past few seasons, a new mantra is echoing across juniors companies exhibiting at WWDMAGIC: Innovation.
As businesses stabilize after trimming costs and managing inventory tightly in the direst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, designers and manufacturers are strategizing how to entice fickle teenage girls to return to stores and shop. Some companies are playing it safe by tweaking past bestsellers, while others are forging ahead to push extreme styling as seen on the runways and streets of Europe and Asia.
“It’s not good to be as good,” said Deke Jamieson, executive vice president of marketing and licensing at Los Angeles-based YMI Jeanswear. “You need to come up with new products and concepts — anything that entices retailers to take a look at your brand.”
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That means an expanded array of outerwear — triple the number of styles from last year — for YMI. Among the cover-ups are puffer jackets, lined hoodies, faux leather jackets and plaid wool coats, all retailing from $49 to $115. The company also plans to capitalize on the trend for denim leggings with a crinkled version at $38 retail. “We suggest to consumers that they tie it up and throw it in the washing machine and dry it that way,” Jamieson said. “When they put it on, it feels like second skin.”
Los Angeles’ Z Cavaricci is also promoting denim leggings made of blue and black 8.5-ounce denim with 40 percent stretch. Having taken a six-month hiatus from shipping, the brand is in the midst of a revamp with better-priced denim. Wholesale prices now run from $18 to $28, compared with its previous price range of $12 to $16. The styles veer toward ultratrendy, such as motorcycle-style jeans and a skinny leg in an ombré wash that is drenched in a vibrant color before fading to white.
“The key to this whole thing is getting quality product at a low price,” said Martin Barrack, Z Cavaricci’s sales director. “The fabric, the denim, everything is equivalent to, say, a premium Guess item but the prices are half as much.”
At XOXO, the juniors brand owned by Kellwood, lightweight fabric that feels like nothing on the skin is key to the spring collection — for more immediate deliveries — it will present. Voile, gauze and the color white will emerge as key trends for the line, which wholesales from $17 to $27. Rompers and skirts will be the new silhouettes.
XOXO isn’t the only exhibitor highlighting spring and summer looks at the February trade show, which traditionally focuses on fall. Madison Brands Inc., New York, said since retailers are buying closer to the season, it’s showing pieces that will ship between March and June. It’s also bringing casual looks, like tunics to wear with leggings, chambray, ditsy prints and big floral patterns.
“In the past, we did button-down shirts that fit at the waist, that you can wear to work with black pants,” said Chasen Mintz, account executive at Madison Brands. “Seventy percent of the line will be casual. It’s what’s been retailing for us.”
New Breed Girl is also chasing the casual-loving teen with the launch of hoodies, ranging from heavy-duty basics to fashion fleece. It’s also introducing backpacks, totes, wallets and beanies. “We are continuing with street trends that influence our demographic,” said Patrick Wood, vice president at the Los Angeles-based maker.
In light of the still-weakened economy, Salt & Pepper Clothing in Vernon, Calif., is continuing silhouettes that have done well in the past but sprucing them up with new fabrics and prints. For instance, it’s updating the kimono top with allover prints in an abstract floral or in solid colors accented with embroidery.
“We want to be safe but not too safe, because we don’t want our customers to think we’re boring,” said Warren Hong, sales representative at Salt & Pepper, where the average wholesale price is $15. “It’s a fine line we’re walking.”
See-through styles are also big for Wow Couture, a Los Angeles-based firm that counts Arden B., Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe among its retail accounts. Instead of lace, it’s knitting cardigans out of rayon. Black and white are the colors for its summer palette of items at $10 to $18 wholesale. Mike Guimm, general manager for Wow, said, “We’re adding variety with lightweight yarn so people can wear them all year.”