NEW YORK — Cedella Marley is looking to get some attention from a mainstream audience.
Her line, Catch a Fire, has been targeting a junior and young contemporary customer since its launch in 2002. Now, Marley said, she has grown as a designer, and so have her clothes.
“As I grew, the line grew,” she said. “But really, I always knew I wanted to do a full collection of things other than T-shirts.”
A painter and daughter of the late reggae legend Bob Marley, Cedella said she integrates her own prints into the collection on tops, skirts and dresses. This year is the 25th anniversary of her father’s death, so the designer has created 25 limited-edition dresses to sell in his honor.
“In my down time, I love to just play and make things,” she said. “And when I was doing that, I came up with this dress design.”
The fall Catch a Fire line, which brings in $9 million in annual wholesale volume, is clearly different than in the past. First, there’s a new logo, taking the sketch of Bob Marley off of it.
“Bob is the foundation of this company, and he will always be there in many elements,” said Karen Greenberg, managing director of Catch a Fire. “But we also wanted to evolve as a fashion brand, so we are upgrading the logo.”
Secondly, the company has hired a new production team and a creative director, who goes simply by the name PJ. He joined the firm from his post at Sean John, where he worked for five years designing the Sean John Collection and working on the Sean by Sean Combs women’s line just before his departure. With his expertise, the company was able to upgrade its fabrics, using more Italian leathers, silk jerseys, cashmere and wool tweeds. PJ has also been working on a new, more misses’ fit.
“We want the line to be salable without being boring,” he said. “We aren’t losing Cedella’s funkiness, but at the same time, the line fits a more misses’ woman, rather than a teenage girl.”
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The fall line includes a variety of higher-end pieces, such as with the tailored tweed jackets and pants, the silk jersey dresses and cashmere sweaters. Greenberg said although Catch a Fire launched a line of denim last fall, it will move away from that segment this fall.
“We know that this customer already has her favorite pair of jeans,” she said. “But we are going to give her a big choice of things she can wear with her denim.”
The line used to wholesale from $15 to $240, but now ranges between $30 and $480.
With the upgrade, Greenberg said she will move away from the urban retailers Catch a Fire currently sells, and concentrate on higher-end retailers like Fred Segal, Bloomingdale’s, Kitson, Atrium and Big Drop. Greenberg said with the fall line, the company’s volume is expected to increase dramatically.
“The stores have been asking for a full collection for some time,” Greenberg said. “But we really wanted to wait until we had the right team in place. While we still have some T-shirts in the line, they are much more fashion-focused and I really think this collection will change the way retailers see Catch a Fire.”
Eventually, Marley said she would like to expand her brand even further into a children’s line, a plus-size collection, men’s wear and home furnishings. And in the home area, she already has some experience. The Marley family will open a resort in Nassau next month, called the Marley Resort and Spa. Cedella designed all of the interiors.
“It’s so beautiful, I can’t wait for the opening,” she said. “Our slogan is ‘satisfy your soul,’ and being in the Bahamas, on the beach … it doesn’t get much better than that.”