NEW YORK — It was just another Fashion Coterie show last February when Vanessa Witke set up her booth, filled with accessories from her line Ibisco. She had appointments booked with buyers, and things were looking good for a positive season at retail.
Then a few visitors showed up in Witke’s booth, unscheduled. They were from Cirque du Soleil, the $500 million, Montreal-based entertainment empire known for its creativity in music, athletics and costumes designed by Thierry Mugler. They were looking for a partner to launch a collection of apparel and accessories under Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity label. They liked what they saw from Ibisco, which sold its signature beaded and jeweled belts, handbags and scarves to better specialty stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Fred Segal, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
“When we saw Vanessa’s line at the show, we thought it was already inspired by Zumanity — she really captured the essence of the brand, without even knowing it,” said Marie-Josee Lamy, licensing director for Cirque du Soleil. “From there, things happened fast and she designed new product for us.”
Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, now playing in Las Vegas at the New York New York Hotel & Casino, is a provocative cabaret-style production, for adult eyes only. The 90-minute show, which includes nude performers as well as costumed ones, is infused with sensuality, showcasing men and women with a variety of body shapes.
Witke, who has 20 years of experience in fashion as a buyer for Fred Segal and as a national sales manager at Bisou Bisou, traveled to Montreal to meet with the Cirque du Soleil team and immediately decided to close her Ibisco business to concentrate only on Zumanity. The result is a full line of jersey dresses, leather belts and bags, jackets and sportswear pieces, launching for resort selling at WWDMAGIC next week, where performers from the show are scheduled to appear at the booth.
“The show is so sensual and beautiful, and it’s based on size diversity,” Witke said. “It’s a very focused line, which is what I love about it.”
Earlier this year, Cirque du Soleil launched an apparel line that will hit better specialty stores at the end of this month. The company briefly tested that collection at Macy’s Herald Square here and decided instead that specialty retail was the way to go in order to keep the first season more “underground.” Lamy said Zumanity will be targeted to better department and specialty retailers such as Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.
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“The Cirque du Soleil line is more fashion-forward and works with the trends,” Lamy said. “For Zumanity, the story is completely different. It’s about human sexuality and intimacy, it sends a message of exploration of love in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and genders. This line is for the upscale erotic market, where Cirque du Soleil is much more broad.”
Lamy would not give first-year sales expectations for the Zumanity brand, but said it will wholesale between $59 and $139 for accessories and $59 and $239 for apparel. The company is working on launching a Zumanity fragrance for spring, as well as swim, footwear and lingerie lines down the road.