NEW YORK — Accessories are joining the fast revolution.
Designers and retailers said the emergence of a luxury consumer eager to acquire the latest looks at lightning speed has lessened the importance of the runway shows as the launching pad for the hottest new handbags, sunglasses, hats, belts and other accoutrements.
Instead, pre-collections are growing in importance for premiering new looks and are getting increased emphasis from such brands as Prada, Versace, Chanel and Calvin Klein, as well as from retailers. Accessories executives said in some cases their pre-collection orders have leaped by as much as 20 percent.
“I love the tradition of the runway and it being positioned where it is,” said Michael Fink, vice president and fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue. “But your total fashion customer can’t wait for the runway to see what’s going to come into season [for accessories], and the days of trunk shows and reserving your items have passed. Today’s customer wants it yesterday.”
The trend is especially playing out in resort and pre-spring collections. In August, customers are already eager to cozy up to fall’s best cashmere scarves, shearling caps, ponyskin gloves and suede shoulder bags in shades of chocolate, plum, gray and black. But come October, when the merchandise may be languishing, the markdown corner may be expanding and the weather outside may be growing frightful, the shopper might feel more inclined to cocoon indoors rather than go out shopping for been-there, done-that dark looks.
Holiday goods begin hitting stores at this time, introducing some newness. But sources said it is really resort, which begins selling in November, and pre-spring, which arrives in January, that have the potential to inspire that consumer looking to freshen up her wardrobe. As an added incentive to designers, the items will remain on the selling floor well into May, offering the longest retail season with the least markdowns and the greater potential for reorders, and will reach that woman who is traveling to a warm climate or who lives in one year-round.
Resort and pre-spring collections are increasingly important to all aspects of the business. In June, WWD reported that cruise ready-to-wear collections account for up to 70 or 80 percent of spring-summer sales for many houses. Gucci’s cruise collection, for example, now represents 25 percent of annual sales, or 80 percent of the spring-summer retail selling period alone.
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But many observers said that since accessories drive the luxury goods business today, what is happening in rtw is even more intense when it comes to handbags, shoes and jewelry.
Tom Murry, president and chief operating officer of Calvin Klein, said the brand’s pre-spring percentage of total sales overall has steadily increased over the past few years.
“Retailers have definitely been requesting it,” he said. “The increase in bookings for pre-spring has been approximately 15 to 20 percent.”
As a result, Murry said, the brand has added extra stockkeeping units — including accessories — to pre-spring.
“It’s a larger collection than before,” he said.
Barbara Cirkva, executive vice president for fashion at Chanel Inc., the U.S. arm of the Paris fashion house, said the brand’s pre-collection accessories are increasingly in sync with fashion, whereas five or six years ago the focus was more on basics.
“Pre-collections are a lot more linked to fashion at Chanel,” she said. “It’s a big part of business, and it’s increasing. Both cruise and pre-spring are something everyone feels strongly about. Cruise comes pre-Christmas, so the assortment is fresh and exciting for gift-giving. Pre-spring is another shot of color, which is great to have in stores in January and February when it’s gray and snowing outside.
“Accessories are very much about instant gratification and having impulse purchases. Having a collection to show early in the season gives business a shot in the arm.”
Prada is banking so much on its upcoming pre-spring collection that it’s producing its first-ever ad campaign for the delivery, which will begin appearing in magazines in November and December.
“We are going back to our origins and [showing] bags [that] will focus on our historical logo, which is directly related to the Savoias [Italy’s royal family until 1945],” said a spokesman. “In 1919, Prada became the family’s official supplier, and Prada included the Savoias’ coat of arms and the rope knot on its products. We are going to play that up.”
Versace this year presented its first cruise collection since 1992 and, in an acknowledgment of pre-collection’s importance to the house, rethought its designation.
“There is a definite customer for whom this category was originally invented,” said a spokeswoman at Versace. “However, resort is now snapped up by a different kind of customer who wants something absolutely new to wear the first couple of months of the year. Pre-collections have become important because it is the first window of the season — so much so that Versace’s pre-spring is now called ‘main,’ with the accessories presented during Milan Fashion Week in September taking the name ‘runway’ instead.”
Valentino now allocates 80 percent of its accessories assortment to spring pre-collections, according to a spokesman at the brand.
“What was created as collections that had a specific function during the Twenties and Thirties is approachable by everybody today,” he said. “Resort works to distract you from what happened in fall, and it’s always nice to wear something that looks like you’re on holiday.”
A spokeswoman for Salvatore Ferragamo said, “We think that clients in the world each give a different meaning to cruise and pre-spring. Essentially, at the base of it, is the ongoing desire for new things, so much so that the number of collections have increased and two seasons aren’t enough to keep clients coming into stores. Pre-collection sales have grown over the past two seasons, and this business is increasingly relevant.”
Sarah Easley, co-owner of Kirna Zabête, said that to cater to its customers, the store has increased its accessories assortment for the pre-collection retail period by about 22 percent over the last year.
“Our customer is a very avid fashion shopper, and the resort category looks very fresh,” she said. “There are shoppers who are still travel-oriented, but then there are customers who aren’t going anywhere and just want spring looks.”
Among Kirna Zabête’s accessories for the pre-collection selling season are looks from Balenciaga, Chloé and Lanvin. Easley also said she is introducing new jewelry designs from Maven by Tori Spelling.
“In the past, [pre-collections] were filled with merchandise that was more basic,” said Robert Burke, senior vice president of fashion for Bergdorf Goodman. “Now designers realize they need to give the customer more.”
Burke said he is anticipating a strong customer reaction to pre-collection accessories from Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Tod’s, Manolo Blahnik, Nancy Gonzalez and Oscar de la Renta.
“Resort offers a nice opportunity,” he said. “The runway is still vitally important, but [the emergence of pre-collections] allows the designers a chance to be more creative and more open-minded during these time periods, without the pressure of the runway presentation.”
Blanche Napoleon, executive vice president of accessories at Oscar de la Renta, said the need for newness does, however, increase the pressure on the designers.
“The demand on accessory designers these days is outrageous,” she said. “Customers want to see something new. [Designers] have to keep looking for new materials and new handbag silhouettes. The longevity of accessories is not like a beautiful dress that can go through the seasons. Accessories can date themselves very quickly.”
Jeweler Alexis Bittar said he is feeling the pressure. Some of his clients requested that his spring products hit the stores as early as October.
“[Retailers] are buying less holiday, because they are bringing spring in in November,” he said. “That’s a significant change. In terms of design, I feel like I’m forced to be more creative quicker and to get trends more quickly. You have to really sometimes guess when you’re working that early. But that’s the thrill of it.”
Bittar said he has experienced 30 percent sales increases for the pre-collection selling period over the last year.
And more designers are recognizing the opportunity that pre-collections represent. A spokeswoman at Michael Kors said the company hasn’t done accessories for pre-spring in the past, but is considering exploring this option for fall.
“For fall 2005, women’s Collection ready-to-wear offered a pre-fall collection that received strong sales and enthusiasm from retailers and customers,” she said. “Perhaps a pre-fall collection of Collection accessories will be next. There is definitely something to be said about constant newness in a department, and being able to offer your customer something fresh and something to be excited about.”
A spokeswoman for Kate Spade said the trend may also indicate a sliding scale in what constitutes the aesthetics of a particular season.
“Katie [Spade] is known for carrying a straw bag around all year long,” she said. “It’s that romantic idea of using accessories for a mood, and the bulk of customers are just in the end interested in seeing something new and fun.”
— With contributions from Brid Costello, Paris, and Luisa Zargani, Milan