NEW YORK — Austin Reed’s getting a fresh spin for fall.
Chicago-based Hartmarx Corp., which for some 30 years has held the U.S. license for the English label best known for men’s suits, aims to make over Austin Reed’s women’s apparel.
The late Austin Reed founded his namesake label with a shop in London in 1900. Since launching women’s in the U.K. in the Eighties, the label has kept a low profile in America, focusing on classic basics that targeted a slew of small better specialty stores.
“Essentially, it was a spin-off of the men’s business,” said Susan Falk, who joined Hartmarx as group president of women’s wear last year. “It was a quiet, suit-inspired business. I saw an opportunity to take this brand, which stood for British heritage, and expand it into a lifestyle brand, and bring it into the age of a modern woman today.”
Hartmarx is looking to build its overall women’s business, which accounts for less than 20 percent of the total.
“The corporation has identified women’s as an area of growth,” Falk said. “My mandate is to grow this business, and this collection will be a catalyst.”
To that end, the company has made several strategic changes at Austin Reed. To jazz up the collection’s fashion quotient, Hartmarx tapped Kathryn Dianos as Austin Reed’s design director in the U.S. Until last year, Dianos had her own eveningwear and bridge collection, which was sold to stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. In January 2005, Dianos decided to wind down her namesake collection and focus instead on designing some private label lines and Austin Reed.
“It was quite classic, and I saw an opportunity,” Dianos said. “There are few brands that have such a heritage. I wanted to really expand on the British heritage.”
The 180 Austin Reed pieces are designed exclusively for the U.S. market, and cull their inspiration from the American perception of how English people dress, Dianos added. While the collection still features classic items such as cashmere cardigans, sweaters and twinsets, there are also plenty of items with more fashionable elements. A structured suit, for instance, features toggle details inspired by English outerwear coats across the front of the jacket, while a suede jacket has a detachable fox fur collar adorned with leather flowers. Wholesale prices range from $63 for a blouse to $498 for a coat. Blouses range from $63 to $125, and pants, from $88 to $113.
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“There is clothing to take a woman to work, from day to dinner and into weekend wear,” said Falk, adding that she expects Austin Reed’s women’s collection to be a $50 million wholesale opportunity over the next two years by targeting upscale specialty stores nationwide.