CHICAGO — Dresses ranging from baby dolls to jersey wraps were in high demand at the StyleMax market that ended its four-day run Aug. 15 at the Merchandise Mart here.
“Dresses are hot, hot, hot,” said Susan McCullough, senior vice president for apparel for Merchandise Mart Properties. “They’re fresh and different. They seemed to span beyond one silhouette and one trend.”
“It is a dress cycle right now,” said Ricky Self, president of sales for Donna Morgan, a New York-based dress firm. “The wrap jersey dress is on fire. Stores that don’t usually carry dresses are buying them.”
At StyleMax, Donna Morgan opened 14 new accounts, Self said. “Every show I had this month I tripled my numbers from last year,” he said.
Mary and Lauren Sanford, a mother-and-daughter team who opened Beanie June Boutique in Ann Arbor, Mich., less than a year ago, bought into the dress trend with a versatile V-neck jersey minidress in an abstract brown and cream print that may be worn as a dress or a top over skinny jeans, and leggings from Pink Polka Dot and jersey baby-doll dresses in solids and prints from Ya.
“We did see more dresses that were a lot more fun and a better price,” Mary Sanford said.
A new resource from New York, Cino by Cinthia Menolascino, picked up 10 to 15 new accounts during her first trip to StyleMax. Menolascino, who likes to offer a rough edge to feminine looks, said her crinkle-cotton ruffle-front blouses in black and white, and distressed brown military-style leather jackets were top sellers.
Chicago designer Tennille White also found StyleMax to be the perfect place to tout her line, Tennille White Chicago, which can be worn by plus-size women.
White, whose best-selling items include a textured ivory silk jacket, an ivory silk off-the-shoulder and oversized ponchos with draping fabric that can double as a hood, participated in the “Red Hot Chicago! Emerging Designer Incubator.” As part of the incubator, 11 up-and-coming apparel and accessories designers set up shop at the market, hoping to forge relationships with buyers.
Although many of the designers reported slow traffic and slow sales, White deemed the venture a success, receiving six orders, including one for $10,000.
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“It’s better than I could have ever expected,” White said of market.
McCullough said regardless of sales, participating in StyleMax is worthwhile for younger designers seeking more exposure.
“It is good experience for them,” she said. “Selling something is kind of an added benefit.”