NEW YORK — Boutique owners were on the hunt at Fame, Moda Manhattan and Designers & Agents, and they had a lot to choose from for immediate deliveries, as well as holiday and resort selling.
Fame and Moda Manhattan, which ended their three-day runs Tuesday at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here, were venues for trends. Among the 700 vendors at Fame and 300 at Moda Manhattan, there were standouts such as gypsy skirts accented with beading, embroidery and sequins; lace camisoles, and cashmere cardigans.
“Our boutique customers aren’t thinking too far ahead. They need to fill their stores now. Spring comes later for them,” said Michelle Kim, president and designer of 213, a Los Angeles-based young contemporary firm showing at Fame. “I’m really happy with the show this time. I wasn’t sure how the traffic would be, but because ENK [is producing Intermezzo, also showing this week], I think that helps this show a lot.”
Kim said she had a series of pieces that booked well, including a black or white cotton hoodie lined with either silver or gold sequins. There was also a velvet V-neck dress with ruching, a chocolate brown chiffon polkadot skirt with tulle overlay and a series of crushed suede cardigans with lace accents. The 213 line, which Kim named after the downtown Los Angeles area code, wholesales from $15 to $80.
At the San Diego-based Demoss Jeans booth, Ernie Sanders, president and chief executive officer, showed denim jeans lined with printed silk linings.
“They are lined all the way through, so the customer can cuff them and the lining will show,” he said, displaying the jeans. “They are also made with a lightweight denim fabric to make sure they aren’t that hot for the wearer.”
The Demoss line wholesales from $35 to $40 with lining and $15 to $20 without.
Sanders was also at the show with his newest line, Ricki D., a collection of junior denim jeans accented with rips, tears and some embroidery. That line wholesales from $10 to $15.
At Moda Manhattan, a juried ready-to-wear show located just steps from Fame, JSong International Inc. president Edward Kwang said his long denim skirt accented with cutouts at the bottom and wholesaling for $65 was booking well, with a matching top, also for $65. The skirt was sold with a detachable plaid lining.
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“One store ordered 200 units of this,” Kwang said, who is based here. “Boutiques want something different than department stores. Customers who shop at boutiques are looking for detail and they are willing to pay a little more for it.”
Also booking well was an embroidered silk shantung coat with matching pants and suits in colors such as maroon, black and tan. The JSong collection wholesales from $65 to $159.
One buyer, Zaldy Lustig, owner of the 23-year-old Unique Boutique in Brooklyn, said she was at the show particularly to see what was new at JSong. She said everything she buys from the company sells out almost immediately, and the line caters well to her customer base of conservative women who want a bit of an edge in their wardrobes.
“The fit is just right and the customers love it,” she said. “No one fits their garments this well — no one.”
For Karen Kane, it was the company’s first time at Moda Manhattan. Tiffany Bowe, vice president of sales, said traffic was good and buyers seemed interested in Karen Kane’s holiday offerings. She said novelty camisoles such as the floral-printed silk and lace camisole with beading booked, as did the velvet camisole, also with lace details.
“The camis are still very strong,” Bowe said. “This time, we made them longer and with a slit at the sides to make them fit really well.”
To go with the camisoles, Bowe said she also booked beaded cardigans, gauchos in men’s wear fabrics, cableknit sweater coats and sweater jackets. Karen Kane’s average wholesale price ranges from $50 to $54.
Meanwhile, at Designers & Agents, 31 vendors are showing their merchandise at Boylen Studios at 601 West 26th Street here. Ending today, the vendors range from contemporary designer Tufi Duek to accessories by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Julieri. With a DJ spinning, buyers walked the floors searching for merchandise to fill their stores immediately.
The busiest booth was that of Los Angeles-based Cake Couture. The three-year-old contemporary company was showing its And Cake line of cashmere sweaters and T-shirts accented with kitschy phrases and crystal images ranging from a cowboy boot to a Buddha. It also showcased its woven shirt line, accented with bright color embroidery. The And Cake collection wholesales from $29 for a T-shirt to $475 for an embroidered cashmere coat.
Designers & Agents also chose this season to introduce its Creative Art Exchange Program as a staple part of the D&A Lab show in Japan and the D&A trade show in the U.S. Twice a year, the initiative will select a different American artist to travel to the D&A Lab show in Japan. With an Aug. 18 deadline, this will be the first time a U.S. artist will travel to Japan to visit the September show. It also will select two Japanese artists during the year, one to travel to the New York show and a second to the Los Angeles show.
The artists will be selected by a panel of judges that will include the founding partners of D&A, Barbara Kramer and Ed Mandelbaum. After participants apply online, each winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to his or her winning city, and be awarded $1,000. They also will be given a prime location in the show from which to create and exhibit their artwork.