NEW YORK — Doo.Ri is going for seconds.
Designer Doo-Ri Chung plans to launch a secondary, lower-priced line next year that will pick up on many of her signatures — the jersey, the draping and the feminine silhouettes — in fabrics more suitable for everyday.
The line will not be labeled Doo.Ri, though the designer is still deciding on a name.
“I have been thinking about this for a really long time,” Chung said of the secondary line. She credited Stella Ishii, president of The News showroom, for encouraging her. The line will be carried by The News, and launch for fall distribution.
“Within my own collection there is a great need to have a wider price range,” Chung said. “A second line allows me to do that.”
The first two seasons will likely be a greatest hits of sorts, featuring patterns Chung felt didn’t get their due in the main collection, in fabrics more suitable for everyday, including T-shirt jerseys and leather, she said.
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“Every time I tried to bring them into the main collection, I feel that there is a disconnect,” Chung explained. “This was a great outlet for me, with clothes that my friends could wear to work or on weekends.”
The line also will feature leather jackets, stretch leather leggings, silk screened T-shirts and jersey dresses.
Chung launched her main collection in 2003, and has made a name with her technical design and draping skills, using sportswear fabrics like jersey, wool gabardine and leather. She sells her main collection to stores such as Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman and Ron Herman.
Jersey dresses in the new line will wholesale from $170 to $200, jersey tops from $80 to $119, jersey outerwear from $200 to $325, and leather jackets for $475.
By comparison, dresses in the main collection wholesale from $395 to $895, tops from $250 to $675, outerwear from $425 to $825 and knitwear from $275 to $825.
Chung’s diffusion line is one of several extensions in the works among designers. Thakoon is launching a new capsule collection called Thakoon Addition, a supplementary line with May-June and November-December deliveries, which will be inspired by some of the designer’s most popular designs, and sit alongside the main collection. The suggested retail price points for the line will range from about $495 for a top to $825 for dresses. Tuleh’s Bryan Bradley, meanwhile, is also launching a lower-priced line called “Bryan Bradley” next year and Zac Posen has plans to launch a secondary line, though a launch date hasn’t been determined.
For her part, Chung doesn’t plan to put the second line on the runway, choosing instead to focus on look books put together with different stylists and photographers.
“We are really hoping we can reach a broader range of stores,” Chung said. “I can’t really sell my main collection to a lot of wonderful stores. At that price point, your distribution can be completely broadened.”