NEW YORK — This spring Vivienne Tam is dressing up her business with a new division, Vivienne Tam Dress.
“Dresses are always one of our top selling classifications and dresses are what the celebrities want to borrow,” said Brian Hogan, senior vice president of sales and merchandising.
With 2006 shaping up to be “a super strong dress year,” the company decided the timing was ideal, Hogan said. The new division also aims to attract department store customers, a sector the company is eager to develop.
While Tam was in China on business last week, Hogan offered a preview of the debut collection that consists of day-into-evening dresses, “wear-to-work” ones, cocktail dresses and daytime styles. With wholesale prices from $175 to $325, Vivienne Tam Dress is expected to generate $2 million in first-year projected wholesale volume, Hogan said. Early bestsellers include a $175 stretch tulle halter dress with hand-cut appliqués and another dress with appliqués and a satin tie at $240.
Lace dresses with coordinating jackets, a hand-crocheted ribbon coat, sleeveless dresses in bold graphic prints and a flowy long-sleeved dress in a black-and-white floral print are among the spring offerings. Initially, Vivienne Tam Dress will be offered in about 30 major retail doors and 50 specialty store doors. Tam plans to offer 20-piece groups 10 times a year, with the first shipment set to arrive in stores in early March.
The category has always been an important one for the designer, said Hogan, adding, “Vivienne loves dresses. She loves to wear dresses, so this is very enjoyable for her.”
Tam, who was awarded the Outstanding Chinese Designer at the Business of Design conference in China on Nov. 22, has other new ventures in the works. She plans to open a freestanding store in Beijing in early 2006, is designing cell phones for Motorola and continues to collaborate on decor with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.