Calling emerging designers — Belk is staging its third talent search for southern designers after a one-year hiatus.
The Southern Designer Showcase, which skipped a year while the company conducted a music competition, offers mentoring to winners and the opportunity to sell in select stores and online in spring 2016, explained Arlene Goldstein, vice president of trend merchandising and fashion direction. The deadline for applications is Feb. 2.
“We’re just looking for young talent,” Goldstein said during a visit last week to Belk’s flagship at Galleria Dallas. “It’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my career.”
The company named 13 winners in 2013 and three in 2012. Two are still sold by the retailer: Emily Newnam’s Southern Frock contemporary looks and Regina White’s American-made leather goods.
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“It’s like an M.B.A. for some of them because they’ve not been on the business side and seen what happens when you do become a vendor and what it takes,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein gave a talk on spring trends to bloggers at Belk’s flagship in Dallas that opened last market. Her trend tour also covered the company’s top markets: Charlotte, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta and Nashville.
“The customer across the company is choosing fashion,” she said. “Contemporary was always a white space for us, and that has been very, very successful.”