NEW YORK — Trunk shows don’t pack the punch they used to for smaller houses, and, as a result, some ready-to-wear resources are scaling back a bit.
That was the word among attendees at the Designers at the Jumeirah Essex House show, held here earlier this month. The main problem is too many special occasion and minor league rtw designers ramped up their trunk show schedules and consumers have lost interest, show resources said.
That is far from the case with big-time designer labels, of course. In May, Bergdorf Goodman broke its record for a three-day Chanel trunk show by drumming up $6.1 million in business. That same month, Michael Kors generated $700,000 in sales at a three-day trunk show at Richards of Greenwich, a specialty store in the tony Connecticut town.
Frank Agostino, who designs daywear, eveningwear and special occasion under the Agostino label and runs a signature boutique in Bryn Mawr, Pa., said, “I feel the consumer is so burnt out with trunk shows that occur weekly. My schedule this year is slightly down from a year ago.”
He said he will only hold trunk shows with specialty stores that have a strong representation of his collection — at least 12 or 15 styles. When he does do a trunk show, Agostino tries to distinguish himself from his competitors by sending handwritten invitations to special customers. In addition, instead of just showing up and greeting shoppers, he will host a tea, breakfast or an intimate formal fashion show in the store, he said.
Agostino has the luxury of being able to glean information from women who shop in his store, which lessens the need to do the meet-and-greet in other people’s shops. For instance, when he noticed more young women in his store were asking for dresses with sleeves, he responded by doubling that style in his collection.
Agostino said he thinks he could enlighten buyers with such insight. “Unfortunately, retailers don’t use my [retail] background and my knowledge,” he said. “My buyers feel they wrote the book on everything.”
Another way he offsets the need for trunk shows is having an atelier in Bryn Mawr, where he designs customized pieces on a regular basis. “We’re able to turn things around quickly,” said Agostino.
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One of the downsides of trunk shows for customers is the lag time between placing an order and receiving the outfit, said Linda Heister, vice president of sales and marketing at Mark Heister, another show resource.
“I so wish stores would become less reliant on shows as the customer often has a difficult time finding clothes that she does not have to wait for. That’s a complaint we hear often,” she said. “I do think that there are way too many trunk shows. When business began to go south after 9/11, it seems like every company began to do shows — many without orders.”
Heister refrained from increasing the company’s trunk shows and has no plans to do so. She prefers to work directly with retailers on their special orders, and noted Mark Heister’s special-order business is 20 percent ahead of last year.
“People are really focused on novelties. The market is really cooling and what’s selling is what’s unusual,” she said.
Novelty jackets, wholesaling between $550 and $690, especially one in a butterfly brocade, were bestsellers at the show, she said.
Another shift she said she noticed is how clothes are either very dressy or very casual. To try to tap into the former, Mark Heister has developed a collection of microfiber separates in black and white. A backless halter top, wide pants, tunic and cropped pants are among the offerings, which will wholesale from $150 to $400.
At Sansappelle, new owner Margo Murray, who bought the company in February, is trying to spruce up its image. Decreasing the number of trunks shows is part of her new strategy.
“There’s nothing special about them anymore,” Murray said. “We’re not going to do as many. We’re going to take control. They can be expensive and time-consuming.”
Some retailers are trying to come up with fresh ideas to replace trunk shows — like hosting suit parties that show off a variety of labels — to get existing and new customers into their stores, she said. That is the type of event Murray would be more inclined to get involved with than a trunk show, she said.
Sansappelle aims to drum up sales for its customized clothing, which is made at its Oak Street headquarters, Murray added. The company also has a by-appointment-only store there.
Murray is trying to rev up business by sourcing fabrics from new vendors, using different embellishments and a new marketing campaign. At the show, stores were looking for spring suits, wholesaling from $500 to $700, and eveningwear wholesaling from $995 to $1,900, she said.
One Essex House attendee, Susan Lee Drenning, owner of the Susan Lee boutique in Atlanta, said she steers clear of trunk shows.
“I’ve never done many trunk shows. I’m very different [than most] that way,” she said. “I have to be in love with a company to have a trunk show. They just create a lot of confusion. I don’t like the designer standing between me and my customer. The designer might be trying to show the customer what she wants to sell that day, but it’s not necessarily what the customer wants.”
At the show, Drenning said she liked the “wonderful new novelty fabrics” used by Mark Heister, especially the ones in the brocade jackets. She also bought eveningwear and separates from Catherine Regehr, a popular label in her store.
Drenning, who has been in business for 30 years, said business is strong, due largely to her predominantly wealthy clientele. “My customers are very wealthy and wealthy people don’t change their ways. [When times are tough], they might not buy a new airplane or a Mercedes, but that doesn’t affect their clothing buy.”
Joan and Jack Stanton, owners of Ruby, a SoHo store here that specializes in vintage clothes but also offers some contemporary pieces, said they were searching for pieces that look vintage. At their by-appointment-only store, customers include high-profile designers and fashion editors — people who appreciate the workmanship often seen in vintage garments, they said.
The Stantons were especially interested in finding more formal dresses, but didn’t have any luck at the Essex House.
“My customer is looking for something special,” said Joan Stanton, noting customers must have an appointment for the 70 Spring Street store.