NEW YORK — The better accessories category is beginning to resemble the designer tier, based on the brand names entering the field.
Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Renta are jumping on board, after Michael Kors and Tommy Hilfiger launched collections last year.
Calvin Klein will produce handbags, small leather goods, hats and scarves under license with Accessory Network Group for fall. Shoes were launched for spring and are licensed to Jimlar Corp.
O Oscar handbags will be manufactured under license with The Betesh Group. Allure, a division of Marchon Eyewear Inc., will handle sunglasses, and The Fashion House Inc. will produce shoes.
Klein’s chic bags are in a similar mode to products offered in the upscale Calvin Klein Collection. Soft bucket bags in distressed chocolate brown or python-embossed leather, sleek metallic leather clutches and a large crocodile-embossed tote are key items that will appeal to the better customer and a bridge or designer shopper looking for an inexpensive purchase.
Wholesale prices for bags start at $17 for a leather coin purse and hit $109 for a bucket bag. Hats range from $22 wholesale for a matte satin fedora to $64 wholesale for a floppy, wide- brimmed felt style.
Calvin Klein Inc. president and chief operating officer Tom Murry anticipates the collection to roll out to 400 to 600 doors, including Federated and May stores, Dillard’s and Saks Inc.
“Based on the reaction of buyers who previewed the line, we think that, in a very short period of time, we’ll be a top, if not the biggest brand in this price zone,” Murry said. “I think the quality is as good, if not better than some of the other brands in this price point. We’re very impressed with what Accessory Network Group has produced.”
The line is housed in Accessory Network Group’s newly created luxury division that also includes the handbag label Ghurka.
“Calvin Klein is a very well recognized brand in department stores,” said Abe Chehebar, ANG chairman and chief executive officer. “The Calvin Klein team has done a great job in communicating their vision to us.”
O Oscar accessories will be targeted toward like channels of distribution and take a cue from the designer’s signature sophisticated ladylike look. The handbag line consists of about 40 styles that range from a purple tweed tote with fake-leather trim and a bow at the center to an east-west style in plum, accented with a gold-tone closure emblazoned with the O Oscar logo. The bags will retail for $32 to $75.
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O Oscar sunglasses include large plastic looks in eggplant and sage with crystal logo detail at the temples to metal frames with pronounced temples and floral etchings. The frames will retail from $35 to $48 at department stores. Although the line does not include ophthalmic styles yet, ceo Alex Bolen said that it is a likely next step.
A shoe line with some 45 styles will retail from $60 to $99 and roll out to stores toward the end of the year.
Bolen intends distribution to correspond with that of O Oscar apparel, which is now in about 700 doors. Although he declined to divulge sales projections for the line, Bolen conveyed interest in taking O Oscar into other categories such as men’s wear and watches.
“It has been our intention all along to make O Oscar a lifestyle label,” he said.
As for the target consumer, Bolen said, “It’s not necessarily for a younger customer….It’s for a woman who is fashion conscious with a moderate budget who appreciates Oscar’s sophisticated designs.”
He also ascertained that de la Renta himself is quite involved in the O Oscar design process. “Ultimately, he says yea or nay to any of our licensees’ designs,” Bolen said.