NEW YORK — Fashion companies have jazzed up their looks with bohemian touches for the last few seasons and the trend is expected to persevere through this spring and summer, according to several vendors at the Nouveau Collective fashion trade show here.
Christine McNamara, manager of the Dress Shop and the Allen Street Dress Shop in Buffalo, was shopping the show after a strong fall season.
“People are looking for standout pieces they can wear year after year, that they don’t have to throw out at the end of each year,” she said. “Clothing companies seem to be responding to that need, because I didn’t see gauchos at every booth. There is not just one trend.”
Exhibitors at the show, held Jan. 7-10 at The New Yorker Hotel, agreed business was moving along at a healthy clip at the show, with much interest in the ongoing bohemian looks.
New York-based Metric offered contemporary-looking knits and wovens, with top items including a solid turquoise knitted top with a detachable butterfly brooch, cotton spandex shirts in bright abstract prints and myriad crocheted tops.
“The bohemian trend is helping sales of crocheted pieces,” said Christina Marulanda, Metric’s sales manager for the line, which wholesales from $34 for cotton spandex tops to $69 for twinsets.
Marulanda noted that many stores were looking for immediate deliveries. “A lot of people are buying for January delivery,” she noted. “It seems that people need to see sales and determine the direction of trends … They don’t want to project ahead.”
Cristina Dioguardi, owner of Seattle-based Beyond Threads, concurred.
“Stores are placing orders for immediates,” she said. “Perhaps it has to do with the uncertainty. There are so many trends, and so much out there, so they buy closer to the season to better see what the larger stores are doing to avoid offering the same.”
Beyond Threads had a focus on knits, using alpaca blends, mercerized cotton and felt knits. Top items included a hand-crocheted bolero jacket with a spiral crochet detail, for $84 wholesale, and a basket weave baby alpaca cardigan, for $59 wholesale.
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Nancy Josephson, a sales representative for JSS Knitwear, which offered classic knit ensembles, said price points continued to be a major consideration for some buyers at the show. “A lot of stores are more price-conscious,” she said. “My stores tell me that their customers always come in and ask for the sales items.”
JSS’ top-selling item was a knitted pink suit with crochet embroidery. The company’s wholesale prices are about $225 for jackets, and $65 to $90 for bottoms.
Marblehead, Mass.-based Breathe in Style premiered at Nouveau Collective with its year-old collection of whimsical Fifi Tee’s T-Shirts emblazoned with words such as “Sugar Mommy,” “Martini Mommy,” “Anti Aging” and “Good Karma No Drama.” The collection targets upscale specialty stores and is priced at wholesale from $12 to $18, which includes other silhouettes such as children’s T-shirts, tank tops and hooded sweaters. Tonya Rockett, a principal at the firm, declined to disclose sales projections for the line.
“Business is active,” said Rockett. “We have had such a good response with our fun, comfortable clothing. It’s a good conversation piece.”