NEW YORK — With some shoppers still holding out or shopping around before they make big-dollar apparel purchases, retailers and vendors at five trade shows here said being more proactive is essential.
Novelty looks, trunk shows, customized styles and a wallop of color are some of the tactics they’re using to build business. While most declined to give exact figures, several stores said they are seeing healthy gains this season in a still-tentative retail environment. Designers at the Essex House, Nouveau Collective, Atelier, Pacific Designers Collections and International Designers at the Waldorf-Astoria wrapped up earlier this month.
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After reviewing collections at the Waldorf and the Essex for Julian Gold, a four-store Texas operation, designer and eveningwear buyer Kari Morrison said, “All our stores are enjoying great business. Spring feels like it’s here and people are ready to get out of the ho-hum fall mode and burst into spring. People are just having to have these special things. We’re also very driven by trunk shows.”
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Morrison shopped San Carlin for gowns at Designers at the Essex House. She also ordered Mark Heister’s “fabulous four-ply silk separates” and Catherine Regehr’s “fantastic, colorful taffeta gowns that don’t get so over-the-top and glitzy.”
Bill Silver and his sister Kathy Silver Hussey were checking out the Essex House for Weiss-Goldring, their 104-year-old family-run store in Alexandria, La. They said they were looking for “fun, interesting, novelty pieces that give women a reason to buy.”
“People’s priorities are different,” Silver said. “We have to explain the values in clothes. They will spend on their car, home or dining. They want to stop and look, but they want to chintz.”
Hussey described the phenomenon as “reverse Eighties,” where people have money but they’re not spending freely on apparel. To try to offset that, they were looking for high-quality outerwear and fur items. David Goodman for Buonuomo and Algo of Switzerland were among the resources they checked out.
Fellow Essex House shoppers Peggy Griffin and Dotsie Baker said they were in search of special occasion looks “that no one else has” for Celebrity on Paces, a boutique in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. Women are shopping around before they make purchases, but “if they see what they like, they buy it,” Griffin said.
At JM Collective’s suite, designer Kevan Hall said, “There’s been a surge in the economy. Interest rates are low. The consumer confidence is there. People have the money, but they’ve been a little restrained in spending. But people want to enjoy life again and will always spend on clothes for a wedding or bar mitzvah.”
Lilli Butler, who produces a collection by the same name, said resort areas are outperforming cities in terms of sales. Given that, this month she opened her first freestanding store in Sonoma County in California. Most retailers at the Essex House were looking for washable, wrinkle-free, weekend pieces that are good for travel.
“I’m getting the sense things are picking up,” Butler said. “We’re seeing it in trunk shows, which is encouraging people to place good stock orders.”
Another Essex House exhibitor, Laura Couture, was showing off its new Laura Couture by Jaclyn line designed by the company namesake’s daughter, Jaclyn Fischler, who stepped in after her mother died last year. She had previously served as the company’s lawyer. Unlike her mother, Fischler is focusing on women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, said sales manager Jacqueline Celestian.
“People want sexiness, but they still want a little cover-up,” Fischler said. “If your style fits, they will stay with it.”
Another Essex House exhibitor, Zenobia, has beefed up options this fall for its “chic in motion” versatile, daytime pieces and Zeno Sera evening separates. To try to meet more shoppers’ needs, the Toronto-based brand pitches a range of colors, silhouettes and accents, such as detachable lace liners, leather bows and zippered slits.
Zenobia president Barry Bly and executive vice president Brian Winston said stores that are focusing on the better end of the business are doing well.
“That customer is always interested and energetic,” Winston said.
At the Nouveau Collective at the Park Central Hotel, Carol Magner, owner, and Julie Harrison, store manager, of Easy Pieces in Bucks County in Pennsylvania, said business is picking up. Offering more items instead of outfits has helped sales, they said.
“They’re still getting something new without spending as much,” Magner said. In January, the retailer sold out of white capri pants. “That was shocking for us,” Harrison said.
At Atelier at the Rihga Royal Hotel, organizer Susan Summa said, “Buyers are definitely shopping for things that are more casual and contemporary. Our retail advisory council said finding the best price points is the biggest challenge and their customers aren’t dressing up as much.”
Executives at three newcomers — Manouche, Mashiah Arrive and Hinaya — said they were encouraged by the new business they cultivated at the show. Hinaya uses the textiles of Akihiko Izukura and specializes in Japanese-made woven, dyed and braided scarves. The company, which has worked with Donna Karan, opened 15 accounts at the show, said marketing director Mika Watanabe.
At International Designers at the Waldorf, Susan Lee, who owns an Atlanta store by the same name, said she was on the lookout for “outrageously fabulous eveningwear and no men’s wear looks.”
“I’m not buying any vanilla clothes,” she said. “They want color and something they’ve never seen before.”
Paul Carroll, one of the Waldorf resources, said buyers were interested in more tailored pieces compared to seasons past. They are also interested in doing more trunk shows.
“That way they don’t have the liability of owning more goods,” a company spokesman said. “We’re doing more special orders and customized clothes for stores, as they’re more careful.”
— Rosemary Feitelberg