Buyers should have their coterie checklist in order, but are brands on the same page? Sure, skinny jeans will make an appearance at the trade show, but so will men’s wear-inspired pieces; fashion bodies from sporty, casualwear brands, and dresses and tops that feature a mix of contrasting fabrics. The next big thing, many brands say, comes in an array of shapes and styles.
Corduroy tops are already selling well for the New York-based retro collection Le Tigre, and hopes are high the trend will continue. In addition to the cord tops, available in seven colors, including sage, maroon and rose, the brand is also offering extra-long Ts and ribbed tanks perfect for layering.
“We always have the classics, but this season we’ve put a lot of faith in our fashion pieces,” said Ali Paul, vice president of communications for Le Tigre. In addition to creating more fashion bodies, the brand is pushing forward with more luxe fabrics, like cashmere for holiday and superfine piqué cotton. The wholesale price range of the collection has remained consistent, however. Wholesale prices are between $13 and $73.
Le Tigre’s fall collection generally is pushing high-energy colors like bright blue, red, pink and yellow, especially in its outerwear pieces, like a goose-down reversible vest. Of course classic pieces, like polos, are always being updated, but Paul said the brand is also looking toward more fashion bodies, like skirts launching for fall, as a way to make the brand “dressier or even worn at the beach, over a bikini.”
Ya-Ya’s reworked, men’s wear-inspired trench features modified proportions like cropped, sleeveless and capelet styles and backside pleating, with wholesale prices averaging $280. Love from Ya-Ya is a diffusion line in its second season that offers fashion takes on elementary pieces, with wholesale prices hovering around $30 to $60. Think of trousers made of fleece and full-length halter dresses in rayon jersey.
“I wanted to give women’s weekend wear another option besides the tracksuit,” said Yael Aflalo, designer and owner of Ya-Ya and Love From Ya-Ya.
The makers behind Pure Color, the denim line known for its friendlier fits, will launch 317 at Fashion Coterie to offer women alternatives to tried-and-true jeans. Easy-fitting pants with novel treatments such as embroidered waistbands, canvas tabs and luxe trims make up the line, which uses twills, corduroys and men’s wear fabrics. Wholesale prices are $75.
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“We wanted to create something fun, something you’d want to wear in your leisure time from the movies to shopping to parties,” said Kerry Jolna, chief executive officer of the Jolna Design Group, which owns Pure Color and 317.
The feeling in the fall air is that less is more, especially in the denim world. Pared-down, refined styling, sans the rips, the whiskers and the overprocessing, is the preferred look. Giving denim its edge is the changing silhouette of a skinnier pant leg designed for easy tucking into knee-high boots. It is a look embraced by Los Angeles-based Allen B. by Allen Schwartz and Pure Color. And that aesthetic — a rock ‘n’ roll, Victorian hybrid — is crossing over into other fabrics.
“We call it royalty rock,” said Sean Barron, co-owner of Los Angeles-based Joie sportswear. Barron said narrow-leg pants in cropped, ankle and long cuts are available in stretch corduroy, stretch velvet and satin fabrics, which wholesale from $50 to $80. Joie’s iconic cargo pant is reinterpreted in a cropped straight-leg version in satin or leather. For those ladies not blessed with willowy limbs, off-center, side-seam details “give the illusion of longer legs,” he said.
Complementing the cigarette styles are slouchy cotton voile tunics with French cuffs and fur-trimmed sweaters by Joie and fitted blazers in denim and gabardine with velvet and novelty trims by A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz.
Muchacha, the contemporary collection based in Barcelona, continues to take its cues from cutting-edge, European trends. Victorian-inspired dresses and skirts will remain strong, but so will fur, either real or fake; embroidery and meshing; crocheted pieces, and a mixing of different textured fabrics.
“Muchacha is always on trend and Europe is definitely where the trends come from,” said Genie Parada-Fishman, president of Agent R.E.D. International, a showroom here that specializes in the European contemporary market. Agent R.E.D. works in tandem with St. Maarten USA, a distributor for international brands.
Parada-Fishman said Muchacha’s fall collection is very textured, with some pieces that mix opposing prints and texturally different fabrics. “We’re mixing plaids and floral prints, and using completely different fabrics on the same garment, like silk and felt, wool with silk and lace with silk. Simplicity is not in the mix.”
Muchacha will also push crocheted tops, knickers and military-inspired cropped jackets. The collection is currently available in Macy’s East and six freestanding stores around the world. Muchacha is anticipating a wholesale volume of $48 million in 2006.
Embellishments still abound when it comes to ornate eveningwear at Los Angeles-based Sue Wong. Frocks from Sue Wong Nocturne and Sue Wong Collection will feature Victorian sensibilities with lace, tucking, beading and tulle. Along with slip styles, Wong will offer dresses with capelet, flutter and baby-doll puff sleeves in shades of eggplant, teal, peacock, tea rose and printed lace on silk. Wholesale prices for Sue Wong Nocturne range from $147 to $300 and for the day-to-evening styles of Sue Wong Collection from $115 to $149.
“People come to me for handiwork and that’s still the driver for the holiday business,” Wong said.