NOVELTY LOOKS DRIVE FALL BUSINESS
Byline: Kristi Ellis
LOS ANGELES — The novelty cycle — driven by boot-cut and wide-leg styles and darker washes — is still holding stores’ interest, according to West Coast denim manufacturers who recently finished their fall market week.
Many companies are also banking on such non-denim fabrics as velvet, corduroy and twill in the same directional silhouettes to boost the bottom line.
There is a trend toward boot-cut and flare-leg styles, according to Richard Rubin, vice president of Bebop Clothing Inc., based here.
“Fall shipping, which runs from July through September, will be as open as ever in terms of the variety of looks,” Rubin said.
The wide-leg business that dominated last year won’t be as strong, although it will continue, he said. Retailers are also requesting super-wide jeans with 24- to 26-inch leg openings.
He added that Bebop will continue with its 18-inch stovepipe bottoms, but will add 22- to 24-inch openings.
Rubin said white denim is gaining interest: “White has been strong this year in a boyfriend cut that dips at the front of the waistband.”
Another trend that continues to do well is boot-cut pants. But Bebop’s basic five-pocket jeans, wholesaling between $13.50 and $17, are “dead in the water,” Rubin said. “Last year was disastrous for the five-pocket because we were in a novelty cycle.”
Sari Fleisher, national sales manager of Z. Cavaricci here, said her company is also focusing on novelty denim.
For fall, Z. Cavaricci will offer bell-bottoms in lighter weights of denim such as 10-oz. and 12-oz. It will also have wide-leg, boot-cut and hipster styles, averaging $23. Fleisher said Z. Cavaricci is also offering shiny nylon denims, priced at $23 to $25.
“We are also doing a lot of dark finishes and lightweight denim,” Fleisher said.
The company’s key fits are a five-pocket boot-cut that sits low on the hips and a wide-leg five-pocket, she said.
In addition to denim, Z. Cavaricci plans to do a big program in corduroy and stretch twill.
“Corduroy and stretch twill will be huge this year,” Fleisher said.
Earl Jean, based in Los Angeles, launched its first line in December 1995 with one style: boot-cut, low-waisted 14 1/2-oz. dark denim jeans. It will go with the style for fall.
“It’s the modern, classic look, and we don’t need to change it,” said Suzanne Costas, an owner of Earl Jean.
Priced lower than European lines such as Big Star and Diesel but higher than basic lines such as Levi’s, Earl’s wholesale prices range from $23 for a pair of denim jeans to $30 for velvet. The line is carried in high-end specialty stores such as Barneys New York, Fred Segal and Theodore.
Roam, a denim company in Irvine, Calif., is doing consistent business with unwashed dark denim, according to Steve Mann, chief executive officer.
He acknowledged that some retailers did not respond to unwashed denim in 1996, but he feels the trend will hit this year, based on recent requests for dark, stiff denim styles.
Roam is also planning to do lighter-weight basic jeans in 10-oz. to 12-oz. fabrics in a variety of washes, wholesaling from $41 to $43.
Mann said he has also received a lot of requests for basic denim jackets.
On the novelty side, he expects to continue with knee-length denim zip-front skirts, wholesaling for $34.
Mann said the company did so well with low-waisted, boot-cut or wider flare jeans for fall that it now carries the styles in stock.
“We warehouse 2,000 units for the demand,” he said.
Mann said he had a 100 percent sell-through on velvet five-pocket jeans and tops for last fall and plans to carry them for next fall as well.
“What is really driving the business is not reinventing the wheel but more or less different fabrications in the same fits,” Mann said.
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Diesel’s History Lessons
Diesel, the $380 million Italian denim company, has introduced another in its series of “Successful Living” ad campaigns.
The company has been using surreal images and ironic copy to promote its edgy apparel for several seasons. The new campaign, created with Diesel’s creative team and its longtime Swedish ad agency Paradiset, continues the look but with the new theme of “Historic Moments,” both real and imagined. The company will spend $4 million this year on advertising and marketing.
One image takes the well-known news photograph of Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin at the 1945 Yalta Conference — but shows the three world leaders cuddling with three sexy, Diesel-wearing young women. The ad copy reads, “We are pleased to offer you the perfect environment for a modern and successful conference.”
Another shows a young couple fighting in the kitchen of their London apartment while the 1969 moon landing takes place on the TV behind them. There is also a series of print images showing a man campaigning for president using such phrases as “We need a better man for America. We need me.”
The ads are running now through summer in such magazines as Allure, Marie Claire, Paper, Spin, Detour, Interview and Axcess.
Also at Diesel, the company received a “Premio Risultati” last month from a panel of Italian businessmen, academics and directors. The award was created by Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy’s top business magazine, and is given annually to companies with extraordinary financial performance. Diesel’s U.S. sales doubled this year and are expected to hit $100 million in three years.
Riders Sets Kids’ Line
Riders Apparel, the mass market jeanswear line from Lee, is showing an infants’ and children’s apparel line under its new license with Mamyiye Bros., New York.
The new line wholesales from $4 to $9 and includes fashion knits, polyester fleece and cotton yarn-dye items. Riders’ related adults apparel will continue to be manufactured under license with Kikomo, which had held the children’s license.
Sensi of Fashion
Footsense, the Chicago-based distributor of Italian footwear under the Sensi label, is introducing jeans for juniors and men under the Sensi name for April deliveries.
The jeanswear will wholesale from $12 to $30. Junior trends for the first season include flare and bell-bottom silhouettes, low-rise, high-rise and no-waistband styles. Fabrics include a 14-ounce ring-spun left-hand cotton twill, as well as polyester and nylon.
Distribution is targeted to specialty stores along with athletic and surf shops.
The lines made their debut at the Action Sports Retailer trade show held in Long Beach, Calif., last week, and they are being shown at WWDMagic International in Las Vegas through Friday.