NEW YORK — Michael Simon, the designer who became famous in the Eighties and Nineties for kitschy sweaters, is creating a new line of knits without the bells and whistles.
Smitten, a collection the company started in 2005 to focus on embellishment, is being relaunched this spring as a line of sophisticated, streamlined knits.
“I think there is a nice separation between the two lines, but they both say what Michael Simon is all about,” said creative director Simon. “One is shouting it, and one is saying it in a much quieter tone.”
About five years ago, Simon decided he wanted to bring “a simpler approach and a more advanced look” to his novelty sweater business, which had grown to sales of $30 million in the previous decade. He moved his eponymous line in that simpler direction, and relegated the traditional holiday looks to a new line, Smitten.
“But the Michael Simon customer rejected that look — they want more wow,” Simon explained. “We knew we were going in the right direction, but you have to listen to your customer. You learn a lot from your mistakes, and you get a lot of creativity from those mistakes.”
So the Michael Simon brand has returned to signature Michael Simon kitsch, and after a brief break from the market, Smitten has the original fashion-forward look the company originally wanted.
The reincarnated Smitten targets a young, urban audience, and Simon hopes it will expand his company’s appeal. “With Smitten, you need a more critical eye,” Simon explained. “Smitten is more about shape and texture. It’s more subtle.”
The company predicts Smitten will sell in a more limited selection of specialty stores than the Michael Simon brand, which is sold in boutiques across the country.
Suzanne Splan, who owns Suzanne Splan Boutique here on upper Madison Avenue, is carrying both Michael Simon and Smitten for the first time this fall. She predicted the lines would appeal to different clients. “The new line could start at age 18 and go up to 35, if she has a great body. I think it requires a great body, because it is thinner and very body revealing,” Splan said. “It’s more forgiving with Michael Simon. I do have both clients.”
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Smitten knits wholesale from about $40 to $75, slightly lower than the $40 to $90 for the Michael Simon line, where extensive embellishments can elevate costs. Simon predicted that in 2007 Smitten would garner up to 20 percent of the company’s sales, which are expected to grow to $10 million.