NEW YORK — Jacques Moret Inc. kicked off the new look for Everlast women’s apparel with a soiree at the Marque nightclub here last week.
Moret took over the Everlast women’s apparel license this year, and spring is the first full collection produced by the activewear and intimate apparel company.
Dancers for the New Jersey Nets modeled spring styles and staged a spirited fashion show where they danced down a staircase and through an Everlast boxing ring. Among those checking out the new collection were Everlast chairman George Horowitz; his son, Seth, the company’s chief operating officer; Jacques Moret president Joey Harary; designer Alvin Valley, newly crowned middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, and Bruce Silverglade, owner of Gleason’s Gym.
“The collection is more focused now,” Susan Fields, the new general manager of Everlast Women’s Wear, said during an interview last week in Moret headquarters at 1411 Broadway.
Moret has built a showroom for Everlast women’s on the building’s eighth floor. For spring, the collection has been fine-tuned to include more key items that can be mixed and matched, she noted.
While distribution has been mostly in gyms, specialty stores and athletic chains, including Modell’s, Big Five and Paragon, as well as in the Victoria’s Secret catalogue, Fields said she is looking to build the brand’s presence in midtier department stores. Everlast women’s is sold in about 1,000 doors.
“The brand name is really strong and we see potential to grow in new channels,” Fields said.
Among the key items for spring are fitted track jackets, as well as cotton tank tops with the brand name emblazoned across the chest with statements such as “Lover” and “Fighter.” Many pieces in the collection use technical and performance fabrics that are fused with fashion such as a miniskirt made with Ever-Dri wicking fabric. There is also a selection of shorts and capri pants, as well as terry cloth and spandex blazers, tube tops and ponchos. Among the key colors in the collection are orange, turquoise and cobalt blue.
The products also have a new hangtag designed for the women’s line and some apparel includes an updated gold logo.
Wholesale prices range from $7.50 for rib tanks to $22 for jackets. Fields estimated that Everlast women’s sales for 2006 will reach $25 million.
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Jacques Moret also holds the license for Everlast women’s handbags and a small selection of bags will bow for spring, including backpacks, canvas handbags, totes and belt bags, which are made in-house.
Before moving to Jacques Moret, Everlast Worldwide had made women’s apparel in-house. That company has been building itself as a licensing firm and signed several new product categories recently, including bags and exercise equipment, as well as an international distribution agreement.
Under terms of the deal, Jacques Moret will pay about $12.5 million in minimum guarantees to Everlast. At the end of that period, it has the option of signing a 99-year license for women’s apparel rights for about $30 million.