THE COTTON CLIQUE
Byline: Scott Malone / Daniela Gilbert
NEW YORK — Even at the end of what has been a tough year for the textile industry, many of the 300 industry executives at Cotton Incorporated’s annual holiday gala Thursday found something to be positive about.
In greeting the crowd at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, J. Berrye Worsham 3rd, president and chief executive officer of the promotional arm of U.S. cotton growers, noted that “1999 has been a very difficult year in all segments of the business. The industry that we work in has been challenged by low prices and increased foreign competition.” Nonetheless, he noted, U.S. cotton consumption was up 5 percent, year to date.
Apparel-industry attendees said that despite November’s disappointing retail sales, they were expecting the overall holiday season to be a good one.
“It’ll be a great holiday season. Cold weather is exactly what the doctor ordered,” said Paul Charron, chairman and ceo of Liz Claiborne Inc., during a week when daytime temperatures in this city hovered in the 30s.
At the end of a year that saw Liz Claiborne expand its stable of brands through multiple acquisitions and licensing deals, Charron said the company is still on the prowl.
“We still have some core competencies that are extendable into other businesses,” he said. “But there are a couple of holes that we have that I’m anxious to fill.”
Similarly, analyst Larry Leeds, of Buckingham Research, said that while the peak of holiday shopping will likely arrive “late, as usual,” the overall season would likely be upbeat.
“The U.S. consumer is so flush with cash that there is a great demand out there,” he said.
While mill officials at the event were not quite so upbeat, they did point to some things they thought would improve the struggling denim-fabric business in the months ahead.
George W. Henderson 3rd, chairman, president and ceo of Burlington Industries Inc., said that “the unwashed denim look, the engineered look, the high-tech look, as well as lighter-weight fabrics that lend themselves to various new silhouettes” appear to be catching on with consumers.
John Heldrich, president and ceo of Swift Denim, a division of Galey & Lord Inc., said the market is “still very tough, but there’s a lot of new product out there and it’s encouraging.”
Asked what was doing well in denim, he responded, “anything that’s not basic five-pocket.”
Others attending the event were Hal Upbin, president and ceo of Kellwood Co.; Andy Warlick, president of Parkdale Mills; Carl Rosen, president of marketing for JPS Industries Inc.; Bruce Roberts, executive director of the Textile Distributors Association; Peter Dutoit, president of Inman Mills, and designer Kenth Andersson. Called “A Celebration of American Style,” the evening began with a viewing of an exhibit called “Only the Best,” from the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum of Lisbon, included a cocktail hour in the museum’s European Sculpture Court and a fashion show, and ended with dinner under the ancient Temple of Dendur.
The fashion show segment of the evening included looks from five American designers: Geoffrey Beene, Todd Oldham, Lilly Pulitzer, Donna Karan and Kenth Andersson.
Beene showed casual, sophisticated sportswear and eveningwear, while Oldham and Pulitzer played with prints and color. Karan, meanwhile, showed her soft side with clothes from her DKNY Pure line and Andersson showed his line of sportswear and eveningwear made of, among other things, corduroy.
“Cotton is the most modern fiber of all,” said Andersson. “You can do so much with it and still create a modern look.”
One of his dresses, worn by Suzanne Achtemeier, director of fashion marketing and apparel for Cotton Inc., featured red wide-wale corduroy lined in hot pink silk charmeuse and detailed with hand stitching and thread fringe. “I’ve tried to take a simple fabric such as cotton corduroy and make it sophisticated, fun and relaxed, yet not too serious.”