Search

MY DREADLOCKS were pulled smoothly back with a hair band in the front and plaited into a high French braid at the back. It was the late '80s, and I [...]

The clothing industry held a variety of trade shows in New York, NY, during the third week of Feb 1993. The Fashion Coterie show had strong attendance and business was good. The Showroom show experienced steady business and some exhibitors booked fall orders. The Canada Mode show started out strong before business slowed down. The Fashion Expose show started strong and buyers were reported to be looking for specialty items. The Pacific Designer Collection show got off to a strong start ad buyers were pleased with the selection of merchandise. The British Knitters in New York show reported slow business as it failed to attract an audience other than the regular clientele., NEW YORK -- The city turned into a festival of trade shows this week as buyers slushed from one hotel to another in their seasonal search for new looks. Often, [...]

Clothing manufacturers are generally upbeat about business prospects in 1993. Designer collections from Donna Karan, Anne Klein and Calvin Klein are projected to increase annual sales by 25% or more. Clothing executives say that value is still highly important in the market and many are changing their resources to lower costs while holding down prices. Some companies plan to expand through their own stores or via foreign sales, particularly in Europe. Jeans continue to sell well, but junior collections are being phased out of some stores., NEW YORK -- Despite an economy they concede is not yet fully under control, sportswear houses are sharing in the groundswell of optimism that seems to be making itself felt [...]

Bridge lines of women's clothing are increasingly popular. Dana Buchman's bridge line for Liz Claiborne had a sales increase from $16.8 million in 1990 to $28.9 million in 1991. Other bridge line designers such as Donna Karan, Ellen Tracy and Anne Klein have also reported better sales. Women are becoming more cost-conscious and are buying less designer-line clothing. At the same time, women are beginning to reject the conservative, severe suits made for working women. Bridge lines have filled this gap with fashionable, affordable clothing., NEW YORK -- Bridge is not what it used to be. In the last two years it has been transformed from a tired array of cookie-cutter career clothes with a [...]

NEW YORK -- Sportswear executives are bracing for a new year in which sagging consumer confidence and a dismal economy will conspire to hold sales down. In short, it won't [...]

Ten years ago, an interviewer asked me about why there were so few Black models on magazine covers. I said, 'We'll probably see a Black president before we'll see a [...]

The Arnault Era: A New Design At Christian Dior PARIS - When Bernard Arnault acquired control of Christian Dior in 1985, the financier promised there would be changes. It was [...]

Campeau Crisis Seen Rewriting Rulebook on SA NEW YORK - The scars from the Campeau Corp. financial crisis will run deep on SA. On the immediate front, apparel firms continue [...]

The big sportswear designers, such as Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, believe that they can weather the weak economy that has affected Jan-Jun 1993 sales, and actually increase sales volume between Jul-Dec 1993. Steps the sportswear industry as a whole is taking to ensure its survival in the face of stiffer competition and value-conscious consumers include adopting new merchandising strategies, introducing new designs and diversifying their offerings., NEW YORK - The big names in the sportswear industry say they're ready to survive the turbulent economy and come through the second half with plus figures. They are diversifying, [...]

The transition from departing designing head Louis Dell'Olio to incoming Richard Tyler was easy for the Anne Klein and Co staff, but retailers were still surprised at the change. Women's fashion designer Dell'Olio departed to start his own business. Tyler is being welcomed as a skillful designer with strong tailoring abilities, and he plans to design the SA sportswear house line with soft and hard mix and match pieces., NEW YORK -- Everyone was there. Richard Tyler, the new designer for Anne Klein collection, company executives and the departing design head, Louis Dell'Olio, gathered together Tuesday to underscore their [...]

A terrible storm disrupted the holiday shopping season in the Northeastern States and put a brake on strong retail sales increases experienced by retailers in the region. The storm, which consisted of snow, rain, and wind, affected the region from Pennsylvania to New England. Retail sales were halved on Friday and Saturday at stores that remained open, and many stores were forced to close. In addition, many stores suffered minor structural damage from the storm., NEW YORK -- What has been shaping up as the best Christmas in several years got clobbered in the Northeast this past weekend by one of the area's most ferocious [...]

Donna Karan's need to identify with and satisfy her customers has been a major factor in her Donna Karan Co's seven-year growth to a $260 million women's clothing business. At a time when the recession has wreaked havoc with fashion industry sales, Donna Karen anticipates sales of $340 million in 1993 and $500 million by 1997. Karen combines her creative talents with a knowledge of what customers want and urban trends., NEW YORK - It's becoming part of SA legend that when Donna Karan designs, she runs around her office wearing not much more than a bodysuit. Karan says it's because [...]

Hip hop fashion designers are developing clothing lines for women. Most of the fashion has been designed for men, but women are buying the men's fashions. Ten fashion designers, including Spike Lee, Doctor Dre, and Cross Colours, have started women's lines. Cross Colours reports 1st-half 1992 sales of $30 million and expects its women's clothing to generate about $20 million. The women's lines will have the same look, but will be sexier and will feature short skirts and bodysuits, as well as oversized jeans, hooded sweatshirts and T-shirts., NEW YORK -- Spike Lee was the first to stake out the ground just three months -- presenting a rap collection aimed at women as well as men. Now lines [...]

Moderate and designer apparel executives forecast a relatively gloomy six months overall. However, companies that have the right sportswear product will do well in the second half of 1992. Manufacturers are trying to manage the recessionary market by cutting costs and prices, and by picking up market share from companies forced out of business. The consumer is still in control, say the executives, as confidence in the economy remains very low., NEW YORK - Sportswear executives expect a tough second half, another stretch of cloudy economic weather with only a few rays of sunshine breaking through. Most consumers, they predict, will [...]

NEW YORK -- Designers are breathing new life into past bestsellers, using them to build new collections of basics. In the last 12 months, three firms have begun playing this [...]

NEW YORK -- Times may be troubling in the apparel industry, but for some, the lure of fashion and entrepreneurship is too great to resist. Shawn Ray Fons, Barron Wise, [...]

NEW YORK--Gruppo Legler Polli, one of Italy's textile giants, has kicked off a bold investment drive in the U.S. aimed at capitalizing on America's fashion market and design talent. While [...]

NEW YORK -- Adrienne Vittadini, Inc., the major bridge-price sportswear firm, is thinking big. In addition to refining its distribution and image, the company has decided it's no longer content [...]

NEW YORK -- For SA's designer firms, resort has developed into an important chunk of business. Many report it generates upwards of 15 percent of total annual volume, and executives [...]

Strong Support For Secondary Designer Lines NEW YORK -- Retailers are bullish on the exploding array of secondary sportswear lines -- the lower-priced, casualwear spinoffs of designer collections. They are [...]

Contemporary: Making Waves By Playing Safe NEW YORK - One leading retailer says, 'It fell into the ocean.' Another describes it as 'the shining light.' These disparate views of the [...]