Adding accessories once meant that an American designer brand had reached maturity. Now, however, breaking into the category is a sign that a brand has just hit the ground running.
In the last year, a handful of young New York labels from Zac Posen to Tory Burch have overlooked the risks of diversifying beyond apparel early on for the potential payoffs the lucrative category can offer by developing collections of handbags, footwear, eyewear, hosiery and more. And the trend shows no sign of slowing. This spring, Derek Lam will launch his first full collection of handbags, footwear and eyewear; Tracy Reese will introduce a capsule collection of handbags that is expected to be expanded for fall and Thakoon will introduce eyewear.
Isaac Mizrahi will unveil handbags for his diffusion Isaac Isaac Mizrahi line, the second accessory following footwear to populate the line, which hasn’t produced apparel since 1998 but may do so again in the future. He joins Tom Ford, who after departing as creative director of Gucci Group in 2004 returned to fashion last spring by launching not ready-to-wear but a line of sunglasses with Marchon Eyewear.
“I may be one of the first designers to do things backward,” Ford told WWD in October regarding the launch of his eponymous brand. “But there were reasons. Select people may know who I am from my work at Gucci. But I’m not sure everybody knows who Tom Ford is, which is important if you’re building a brand. And eyewear can reach a broader group of people because it’s more accessibly priced.”
Ford has gone on to launch cosmetics with Estée Lauder Cos. and a men’s wear line that will roll out in April.
“In the past, when it came to accessories, no designer did it tremendously well in America,” said Ed Bucciarelli, president and chief executive officer of Henri Bendel. “Of course, you have Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, who eventually embraced accessories, but their track records with the category have not been consistent. I think that has all changed with Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors, who have been tremendously successful in accessories. So now we have this young guard for the first time who is dabbling in it, and we have to see if it takes off.”
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Bucciarelli cautioned that his optimism for some brands is tempered. Accessories, along with a fragrance, can be the cash cow for brands, complete a designer’s story and offer a customer an entry into the brand, but it takes dedication to do the category well.
“You have to question designers’ commitment to it,” Bucciarelli said. “Accessories are a full-time job. Especially with a young designer, they have to be careful when they start branching out and they take their eye off of their core business, which is apparel.”
Robert Burke, founder of Robert Burke Associates, a consulting firm in New York, and a former senior vice president of fashion at Bergdorf Goodman, agreed with Bucciarelli.
“One can’t underestimate the competitive nature of the accessories business, so it might be too early to say how these young designers are going to do with it,” Burke said. “But when you look at designers like Zac Posen and Derek Lam, for example, you’re seeing extremely strong collections that show excellent promise for the future.”
Here is a look at the three newcomers to the category for spring:
Derek Lam
After graduating from Parsons School of Design (now called Parsons the New School for Design) in 1990, Lam spent eight years at Michael Kors working on the signature and bridge collections, a monthlong stint at Geoffrey Beene and two years working for moderately priced retail chain G2000 in Hong Kong. He started his namesake collection in 2003 and last year hit a milestone when Italian luxury leather goods house Tod’s approached him to design its first capsule collection of clothing that was launched in spring. That relationship has since deepened. Lam signed a license with Tod’s to produce his own handbags and footwear in June. And last week, Tod’s announced that the house had named Lam creative director, a job that will include overseeing its accessories. He has also signed a license with Modo Eyewear for a collection of sunglasses.
“All these developments weren’t part of the immediate plan because we wanted to build the Derek Lam name as a ready-to-wear company,” Lam said. “But these opportunities came up, and they are with firms that share the same goals that I do, which is to make beautiful product. And if you want to grow significantly and want to reach a larger audience, accessories are one of the areas in which you can do that in a meaningful way.”
The Lam apparel collection is sold in Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, and select Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom stores. His licensed products are expected to have the same distribution.
Isaac Mizrahi
“In order to make yourself fashionable right now, the first things you think about are your bag, your shoes and your hairstyle,” Mizrahi told WWD last month regarding the launch of his first handbag collection for the Isaac Isaac Mizrahi diffusion label. “Then everything else looks contemporary, if you have that right.”
The sentiment signals a shift for the designer, who successfully built his namesake apparel collection without the help of accessories in the Eighties before it shut down in 1998. This time, the designer, who has been orchestrating his return after first launching a women’s sportswear collection for mass retailer Target in 2003, and then his custom apparel line that sells in Bergdorf Goodman in 2004, is folding the category in when it makes sense.
The collection of 25 handbag silhouettes, which is produced under a license with Accessory Network Group, will join a footwear line that has been in existence since 1996. The Fashion House Inc. took over that license from GFW Group in March. The shoes retail from $200 to $300, and the handbags will retail from $395 to $895.
Mizrahi is set to launch footwear and handbags at higher price points. As for other categories, Mizrahi said, “It’s always hard to talk specifically about the goals of my company, but we’re building something here.”
Tracy Reese
Reese is clear about one thing when it comes to designing.
“You have all of these dreams and you find as you progress in your career, you only have a certain amount of time to fulfill them,” Reese explained. “It’s always been a dream of mine to do accessories because it rounds out the look. But I knew when I was ready to do it, I wanted to hand it over to professionals because you don’t want to put a product out there that isn’t as great as it can be.”
She inked a license with Daniel M. Friedman & Associates in September to produce her first bags, which were launched on her spring runway. She intends to expand the collection to 50 styles, priced from $350 to $700, for fall, and to introduce handbags for her diffusion Plenty by Tracy Reese by spring 2008.
Reese is also in talks with Hue to produce a collection of legwear.
The New Guard
“It may appear that too many designers are going into accessories, but I don’t think there is at all because too many are dabbling,” said Bendel’s Bucciarelli.
Retailers did weigh in on a few names they are staying tuned into and expect could have successful, full-blown accessories collections, including 3.1 Phillip Lim, who launched a small collection of handbags last year; Proenza Schouler, who introduced eyewear through Selima Optique for spring, and Peter Som, who has yet to dip his toe into the water.