SAN FRANCISCO — Sweaters knitted up a lot of action at the fall II market at the Fashion Center here last week.
While price points differed and tastes varied widely — from cotton to cashmere, from bright to deep tones and from cropped cardigan to long tunic styles — many buyers had sweaters at the top of their shopping lists.
The four-day market ran through June 14, with buyer traffic about even with a year ago, according to Jerry Sorensen, Fashion Center general manager. Retailers, for the most part, came to the market in a fairly bright frame of mind, heartened by signs of a turnaround in their stores. Budgets ranged from even with last year to 15 percent ahead.
Among the sweater seekers was Jane Gatti, buyer for the licensed Pendleton boutique here, who liked casual cotton sweaters by Pringle in cropped and tunic lengths. Gatti also sought feminine sweater sets and chenille sweaters. She paired them with related knit separates at up to $59 wholesale.
“I’m finding pretty much everything I need — in off-beat colors including teal and celadon as well as cream, black and cherry red,” she said.
Gatti reported a flat buying budget.
“Business is not terrific, but we are hanging in,” she said.
Betty Bradshaw, owner of Khyber Crossing, an Oakland, Calif. boutique specializing in British India looks, ordered sweaters to pair with jeans and velvet pants.
“I will get long sweaters to hide stomachs and a few cropped ones as frosting,” she said. The retailer favored cashmeres by Tse, fine-gauge cottons by Beau Tricot and Ballinger Gold, as well as some in mohair.
“Mohair is not a volume business for us, though,” she said. “It’s itchy.”
With her spring sales up 28 percent over a year ago, Bradshaw increased her open-to-buy 15 percent. She shopped wholesale price points of $40 to $500.
“We are about a look, not a price,” she said, adding that she also liked wool suits by Zelda and wool separates by Zanella. She was distressed by the lack of”pretty colors” at market, though.
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“We can’t just do beige and black all the time and we’re not going to do lime green, either,” she said.
Shirley Mallman and Jane Robertson, owners of Jane Archer, a Carmel, Calif., boutique, liked sweaters, too, to pair with full-cut knit pants, western-style denim skirts and rayon tiered broomstick skirts. They looked for cotton knits in cropped and tunic styles at $50 to $125 wholesale.
“Tunics have been available for a long time but they are still selling,” Mallman said. Sweater sets were also on their shopping list. The two favored shades of sage, beige, off-white and navy. Their open-to-buy was up slightly, Robertson said, adding, “The tourists are starting to come back to the area.”
Carol Hartley and Gini Baldwin, owners of Tiger Lily, a boutique in Kahului, Hawaii, sought lightweight sweaters to pair with breezy separates by MDG, Celia Tejada and Judy Hornby. The retailers also planned to continue carrying linen sportswear by Johnny Was and Rated R into fall.
“We will have 90-degree temperatures and 90 percent humidity through fall,” Baldwin said. They regularly order sweaters by Eileen Fisher, Joan Vass, Chava, For Joseph and Bettina Riedel and checked out offerings by these resources. The duo also liked stretch velour and thermal goods by E.D. Lee and chenille sweaters by Pura.
Shopping wholesale price points of $40 to $110, the two reported a budget up 10 percent — matching their sales gains for the year so far.
Candice Brusse, owner of Candice & Co., a boutique in Portland, Ore. said she was in search of novelty sweaters to pair with tailored wool separates at $30 to $150 wholesale. The buyer liked brights for fall, but also looked for goods in shades of grape, eggplant and hunter green. She also combed the market for sexy holiday dresses and found some by Tadashi.
“I’m bringing them out early this year,” she said. “Last year I held off and there was customer demand for them, so I short-changed myself.”
Brusse said her sales for the year to date are up 30 percent. Still, she kept her open-to-buy even with a year ago.
Lana Marder, owner of Rumors, boutiques in Mill Valley and Larkspur, Calif., shopped for casual sportswear in the $45 to $150 wholesale range at market. She preferred neutrals as well as deeper tones of olive and indigo.
A-line skirts and dresses, wide-leg pants and vests as well as some sweaters were on her must-have list. The buyer reported a budget up 5 percent.
“Customers are much more open to buying these days,” she said. “They’re in a good mood. They feel like buying because the weather is good.”
Two weekend runway fashion shows highlighted the market and were hosted by the Fashion Center’s new fashion director, Alexis Eisner. Previously a freelance special events coordinator who produced numerous charity fashion shows in the Bay Area, Eisner succeeded Rand Burrus who left the post in January.