New and Noteworthy at ENK NYC

ENK NYC will be staged from Jan. 22 to 24 with 225 vendors. Here, a quartet of brands launching new lines and styles for fall.

BILLY JEALOUSY

It’s not every day that a skin care line branches into apparel, but that’s just what is happening at Billy Jealousy for fall.

The upscale men’s grooming and skin care collection inked a licensing deal with Crown & Eagle to produce and distribute a collection of men’s casual sportswear under the Billy Jealousy name, and the line will make its debut at the ENK NYC show.

The initial collection will be focused primarily on tops, both knits and wovens, and will also include sweaters. There will be very few bottoms.

Jonathan Whaley, design director, said the line will blend “Italian elegance, English bespoke, Asian bounce and American cool. Put it all in a blender and you come up with what we’re calling it — American sartorial.” He said that men today dress differently every day of the week and the plan for Billy Jealousy is to “try to take all the elements of what a man wears Monday through Sunday and make it in the best yarns and fabrics.”

In addition to distribution at upscale retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Galeries Lafayette as well as specialty stores, the brand operates its own store in Nice, France, and will open a second unit in Dubai in July, according to Bruno Pfalzgraf, international commercial director for Façonnable and denim, and head of the denim division.

Pfalzgraf said the moniker of the line is designed to connect the collection to Façonnable’s “tailored heritage. It’s not just jeans. It’s slightly more casual and relaxed and is tailored inspired.” He said it is “based on the archives of the founder, but with a contemporary twist.” It is targeted to the “25- to 35-year-old who doesn’t wear Façonnable yet. But this is a good way into the brand for him.”

The fall collection will be a celebration of the visual arts. It was inspired by two iconic Frenchmen: actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and Nicolas de Staël, a celebrated painter who worked from a studio on the beach in Antibes.

Key pieces include coats, vests and long-sleeve polos in french terry and jersey slubs in “Yves Klein blue,” while sun-bleached oranges and yellow give life to terry-cloth hoodies and roll-neck pullovers. Selvage denim will also be a key component. Retail prices for shirts will be $125 to $200, jeans and chinos will be $125 to $200 and sport coats will be $250 to $300.

“It’s washed down and relaxed but with a touch of elegance,” Pfalzgraf said.

— J.E.P.

NEXT: Farah >>

FARAH

Originally founded in El Paso in 1920, Farah is now based in London and is owned by Perry Ellis International, which operates it under its Perry Ellis Europe umbrella. The brand is known for its bottoms, which, true to its roots, are inspired by vintage American styles — updated with an English spin.

Key styles for fall include the Chester chino and the Mills stretch, with the latter in a skinny fit and fashioned from stretch hopsack fabric. Both come in a range of colors.

The brand encompasses a full collection, with bottoms retailing for $98 to $130, lightweight knits for $88 to $98, heavy knits for $150 to $180, polos for $70 to $90, wovens for $80 to $120, lightweight jackets for $120 to $140 and heavy outerwear for $250 to $350. While bottoms represent about 10 percent of assortments, they comprise about 50 percent of the business, according to Jason Bates, owner of the Derelicte showrooms in New York and Los Angeles, which represent the line in the U.S.

“Building a nondenim bottoms business is really great right now, as so much of the market has been tops driven,” added Bates. “The collection is very wearable with a very nice aesthetic.”

In November, the brand won the Menswear Brand of the Year prize at the annual Drapers Awards in London. In the U.S., Farah is currently carried in Bloomingdale’s, select Urban Outfitters doors and about 65 independent specialty stores, including American Rag, LASC and Oak.

— David Lipke

NEXT: Quoddy >>

QUODDY

Known for its hand-sewn moccasins and boat shoes, Maine-based Quoddy has had its share of ups and downs since its founding in 1909 by Harry Smith Shorey. The firm changed hands through a trio of companies from the Seventies through the Nineties, including R.G. Barry, Wolverine World Wide and Dunham Bros. Co.

In 1998, Kevin Shorey, a fourth-generation descendant of the founder, acquired the company and bought the brand back into family hands.

Since then, the company has ridden the heritage Americana trend to newfound popularity in influential specialty retailers like Oak Hall, Kilgore Trout, Leffot, Mrporter.com and Lane Crawford. In total, Quoddy sells to about 50 wholesale accounts worldwide — and its growth rate is highly restrained by its production capacity, which is currently about 20,000 pairs of shoes a year.

All Quoddy shoes are made by hand in its workshops in Lewiston, Maine. “All our shoes are moccasin construction, which means leather fully surrounds your foot and fits like a glove,” explained John Andreliunas, president of the company. “It takes a year of training just to become an apprentice hand sewer, so that keeps a pretty good governor on our growth level.”

For fall, Quoddy is introducing its new Sitayik style, which is a monk-strap boot and an updated take on its best-selling ring boot. It will retail for $325, while the core price range of the entire collection is between $250 and $500. “It’s a little more contemporary, with a modern silhouette and low-profile Vibram sole,” said Andreliunas of the Sitayik.

— D.L.