NEW YORK — Dana Buchman is tired of bridge.
“Bridge is such a horrible world,” the designer said. “I wish it would just go away. It served us well for 20 years, but it’s done. That old name ‘bridge’ just makes me want to slit my wrists because it conjures up an image that doesn’t exist here anymore.”
As one of the first designers to dive into the nondescript area between designer and better, she feels as though she is entitled to have a change of heart about the category. “We were one of the first labels to enter into bridge, so I think I deserve to send it away.”
Seated in her Broadway offices here last week, the designer talked about how her once suit-driven business has shifted away from corporate types to favor freethinking, fashion-minded Baby Boomers. “There’s a more freewheeling approach to fashion. Women in America are willing to have fun with fashion, which is so nice,” said Buchman. “It makes putting a collection together more fun.”
To that end, Dana Buchman’s three-year-old denim division is now the brand’s fastest-growing category, with sales doubling in the past year. In addition, the brand recently saw a 50 percent sell-through in its new Las Vegas store for its $350 embellished jeans. “That’s a big-ticket item for us,” said Laura Dubin Wander, who joined the company a year ago as president.
Industry sources pegged Buchman’s total annual business at $150 million. The company has reportedly seen double-digit percentage growth in the past 12 months.
Magazines’ unbridled fashion coverage, highly stylized celebrities and the heavy influence of the youth culture have helped to heighten shoppers’ interest in fashion, Buchman said. “I feel like everyone is reading about the same 25 celebrities across the country. But to go out there to actually dress like that is almost impossible if you are a normal person,” she said.
To try to help them along, Buchman is offering flashier items than her 30- to 50-year-old customers were previously used to. Soft blouses, like the red tie-front one she wore with a gypsy skirt and white jean jacket with rolled-up sleeves for the interview, have become a more important portion of the collection. Skirts are another category gaining momentum.
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To be able to respond to trends faster, the company is developing 50 percent of its collection eight weeks before it shows it to retailers, compared to three months before as in years past.
Joan Kaner, vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus, said, “Dana always blends all the right elements of fashion. The collection is more lifestyle-driven. It’s more the way women dress today. She has layered on a younger customer while holding on to the older ones.”
“I meet women on the road and they tell me, ‘I have some of your things from years ago.'” Buchman said. “I tell them, ‘Let it go. The New Age is here.'”
At 53, the designer has undergone a bit of a metamorphosis, as has her husband, Tom Farber, a New York State judge who has taken to riding his Ducati motorcycle. Gone are the suits Buchman wore with her cropped haircut and oval glasses in the late Eighties. These days she favors more flirtatious pieces, like a mauve blouse with a slimming knee-length skirt, and strongly believes her customers feel the same way. That explains the lavender mini-ribbed corduroys, fluted printed skirts and printed wrap sweater worn with pinstripe pants and a floral blouse in her spring collection. Buchman’s spring fashion show will be held at 575 Seventh Avenue here on Sept. 12.
About 20 people, including some who have been with the company for over 10 years, churn out these more low-key looks in the on-site sample room. But two of Buchman’s toughest critics are her teenage daughters, who said her February runway show was the one they “most identified with,” much to her delight.
This coming spring, a major print and outdoor advertising campaign is planned to ring out the brand’s rejuvenated identity. Buchman, whose business is owned by Liz Claiborne, a company she once designed for, has hired brand consultant Lividini Weisenfeld Partners to reposition the brand “from soup to nuts.” Co-founder Jaqui Lividini, who previously worked at Saks Fifth Avenue, said, “I don’t think bridge ever stood for femininity. There was never a soft side to it. That’s very much what’s here today at Dana Buchman,” and will be reflected in the ad campaign.
The designer currently sells to 400 stores and has six freestanding shops. In addition to the recently opened store in Las Vegas, Buchman opened one in Boca Raton, Fla., this summer. Next year the company plans to open five more in the U.S., with San Francisco and Los Angeles being at the top of the list, Wander said. Pleased with how the business is doing in Japan, the company is exploring opening freestanding stores and concept shops there. Russia and Mexico are also areas of interest.
Lining up a sleepwear license is being considered, as are ones for accessories and bedding. Buchman’s only license is for outerwear with The Levy Group.
The designer is convinced her design philosophy will have a broader reach. “My fashion is not for the runway, but for the boardrooms, the country clubs and the nightclubs. The fact that my customer is reenergized about fashion is really nice, but I have to keep in mind that it still goes out to people who rule the world.”