THE AMERICAN T-SHIRT GOES LUXE
Byline: Katherine Bowers
LOS ANGELES — As the quintessential American garment, the T-shirt has had its moments: James Dean slouching in a fitted cotton white number in “Rebel Without a Cause,” Sharon Stone elevating a Gap basic with a Valentino skirt for the Oscars, Madonna crowning her heir-apparent by brandishing “I love Britney.”
From undergarment to billboard, the T-shirt is marking a new, more sophisticated phase, as young, professional women nix blouses and cardigan twinsets in favor of body-conscious T-shirts in luxury fabrics. Interest is propelling a handful of lines to millions in sales here and abroad.
Consider MTV executive Jill Baars, who has 15 Juicy Couture T-shirts, four Three Dots, a pair of Velvets, a James Perse and several Michael Stars crammed into her closet. She shells out several thousand dollars annually on the tiny tops and said she’s not hesitant to spend $100 on a T-shirt.
“I wear [T-shirts] all the time,” Baars said. “They bridge the gap between being professional and somewhat fashionable. That works for me.”
Three lines in particular — Juicy Couture, Velvet and James Perse — seem to be capturing the particularly Californian ethos that lauds casual sexiness.
With a focus on sophisticated basics, these better T-shirt lines stand apart from the spangled, sparkled and slogan counterparts saturating the marketplace in recent seasons.
“These [lines] are higher tier for the young professional who doesn’t make clear distinctions between her work and play wardrobes,” said James Perse, whose namesake line sells at Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as Maxfield, the landmark boutique his father owns.
In 1996, Perse decided to make a dressy T-shirt that still maintained its toss-in-the-washer appeal. He broke into the market with a square-neck shirt with double-ply front that could be worn braless. Women snapped it up. This year, the line is projected to hit $7 million in sales.
The figure still seems to surprise Perse a little.
“I didn’t have the whole thing planned out. I was just a guy with some ideas,” Perse said. “My father didn’t say much [about the business.] But after I sold a zillion shirts, he started to say something.”
Other designers said they, too, were initially taken off guard by the market’s hunger for upscale T-shirts.
“We had a sexy French baby [T-shirt] that took off. It took over everything,” recalled Juicy Couture co-founder Gela Nash-Taylor. “Ninety percent of our revenue that first year was from that T. So we focused on that.”
The focus has paid off. Juicy Couture is expected to grow 20 percent this year, to $36 million in sales, according to Nash-Taylor and co-founder Pamela Skaist-Levy.
The firm scored priceless exposure recently when a host of national magazines ran a picture of Cameron Diaz leaping out of her seat at a Los Angeles Lakers playoff game wearing a Juicy hoodie.
Also expecting double-digit growth is Velvet, with volume expected to reach $9 million this year, according to chief financial officer Henry Hirschowitz. The brand launched a print ad campaign this February, with placement in Elle, Nylon and Wallpaper.
While all three lines offer garment-dyed cotton shirts, the real sales come from fashion bodies in dressier fabrics like Tencel and rayon blends.
Snap-front polos, deep V-necks and muscle shirts are strong sellers for all three lines. Better T-shirt designers can’t say enough about fabric, citing it frequently as what differentiates them from lower-priced competitors.
“The first thing, the very first thing, a customer will do is feel [the shirt],” said Velvet founder and creative director Jennifer Graham. “The fabric has to feel excellent and it’s got to last. It’s an investment piece, even if it is a T-shirt.”
Graham has used washable suede, cashmere, rayon wool, rayon Lycra and cotton ribs of various widths. She introduces a new fabric with each collection. Oddly, except for the line’s labels, Graham has yet to use velvet.
Juicy is known for its rayon Lycra ribbed baby T-shirt. Perse said he’s done well with Tencel, which allows his ruched designs to have a soft, draped look.
In many ways, these brands seem destined for intense competition: they share a target customer, they have similar wholesale price points (starting at $15-$18 for a basic up to $70 for cashmere) and they have nearly parallel retail distribution in the U.S. and abroad — a mix of top specialty boutiques, such as Harvey Nichols, Fred Segal and Henri Bendel, as well as better department stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Saks and Neiman Marcus.
But distinctive design means that the pie, so far, has been big enough to share.
“If everyone continues to do their thing in their own unique way, there’ll be room [for the three brands],” said Perse.
Velvet, the trendiest of the three, is subtly artsy. Fall favors quiet embellishments, such as a web of cotton yarn at the crux of a V-neck or pinhead studs scattered on a twist-front top.
Juicy Couture has a witty Americana feel — polo shirts, wide stripes, cheeky sayings and a punchy color palette selected by Skaist-Levy, who also happens to be a painter.
“We try to take whatever trend and make it as basic and classy as we can, so you can wear it forever,” she said.
Perse works off gentle ruching and matte fabrics to give his line a minimalist feeling.
The three lines share a body-skimming fit, according to California standards, where bodies, through sweat or surgery, stay slim. The close fit has been a stumbling block for Midwest stores, concede better T-shirt designers.
“The Midwest is not our strongest business,” said Nash-Taylor. “We are both on the smaller side and we like things fitting.”
Both Juicy founders — whose appealingly kitschy press photos feature the duo in micro-minis lunching on french fries — are petite women with yardstick-long hair.
Even the gym-fit Perse admitted: “Yeah, we’re getting hints at needing a fourth size.” But don’t expect anything so gauche as an XL. “That would be the most foolish thing I could do,” said Perse.
To wit, Juicy has already added an extra small and Perse said chances are strong he’ll add one soon and bump up the other sizes from there.
These lines aren’t just ruminating about broader sizing and how to capture the Midwestern customer. With the industry, from couture to mass, jumping into the T-shirt category like it’s the last lifeboat off the Titanic, these designers said it’s time to diversify.
Graham, who has offered a small number of casual bottoms for the past two years, plans to launch a separate bottoms line for spring 2002.
“It will be a pretty comprehensive collection ranging from sporty to dressy,” she said, estimating it will offer 20 pieces in four fabrics.
A denim launch is also “highly likely,” said the South African-born designer.
Perse is considering lifestyle lines and an expansion of leisurewear concepts. He’s had good reaction to loungewear pieces such as tap pants and pull-on pants.
“My goal is still undetermined, but there’s a lot of ideas brewing in my head,” Perse said.
Where Perse and Graham are seeing growth as gradual, Juicy Couture is in full expansion mode. Both Juicy founders are eager to lose the “T-shirt resource” tag.
They recently hired Amanda Lewis, who has worked on denim programs for Helmut Lang and Alexander McQueen, to grow the denim business in Europe. The goal is to reach $10 million in sales within two years.
Juicy Jeans, launched in 1999, will bring in estimated sales of $14 million, or 40 percent of the brand’s revenue, said Nash-Taylor.
As for other categories, Juicy launched cashmere sweaters for fall and dresses are “not far off” said Nash-Taylor. The brand is eager to sign a cosmetics licensee but “it has to be the right [partner].”
As for the possibility of being acquired — Nautica’s purchase of Earl Jeans set many California firms hearts aflutter — the Juicy girls are happy to stand on their own.
“We’re self-financed,” Nash-Taylor said proudly. “We have a beautiful line of credit that we don’t touch.”