NEWSREEL
STEFFE’S NEW LINE: Sportswear designer Cynthia Steffe will launch a new secondary line this spring under the label Cynthia. She will also show her signature line in April on the runway at New York’s 7th on Sixth fashion shows for the first time.
The new line, which will ship for July deliveries, is priced at the low end of bridge, with jackets wholesaling from $125 to $150.
“There will also be a lot of items priced to retail under $100,” said Steffe.
Fabrics include fake fur for coats with baby leopard and pony skin textures and stretch fabrics such as fake leather, sateen and twill. There are shirts made from burnout velvet or Lurex fabrics, and a group of coordinated, fully fashioned knitwear pieces in rayon and Lycra spandex or chenille yarns.
The line is expected to do a first-year volume of about $7 million to $10 million.
WE SEE ICB: ICB, the bridge sportswear line produced by Onward Kashiyama, will hold its first fashion show Feb. 20 in the Ace Gallery at 275 Hudson Street in New York’s SoHo.
“One of the reasons for the show is that we have a new design team, so it’s a good opportunity to present the new ICB,” said a spokesman for Onward Kashiyama USA.
Michael Kors had been the chief designer for the line from its launch in fall 1994 but was named a consultant in May, partly because of the increasing demands of his own relaunched bridge line.
Now, the line is designed by a team that includes designers from Japan, Europe and the U.S. One of the U.S. designers is Kenneth Richard, who also has a signature designer label out of New York.
“The other reason we wanted to do a show is because so often the bridge market is shown in the showroom, by delivery,” said the spokesman. “We wanted to show the line with some style, to give some direction to the buyers.”
COTTON TALKS: Cotton Incorporated, in conjunction with Alton Entertainment, is sponsoring a series of profiles of young designers on “Main Floor,” a syndicated fashion and lifestyle television program.
The designers are among those who have appeared in Cotton Inc.’s Innovators fashion shows.
The first profile, of Gemma Kahng, is scheduled to start airing this coming weekend. Upcoming profiles include Mark Eisen, Cynthia Rowley and Byron Lars.