Knickers and Fishnet: Saks, Retailers Seek Hip Designers in NYC

By Andria Cheng

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Tomer Gendler showed his green silk T- shirt and knickers for men at New York's biggest fashion show, one of a record number of new designers appearing at the event.

Gendler, a 26-year-old Texan, is trying to make his first sale to a U.S. retailer such as Nordstrom Inc. or Federated Department Stores Inc. The stores are adding more unknown designers to bolster slowing sales growth and enliven their apparel collections.

"More retailers such as Nordstrom are taking a lot more risks with new, young talent," said Jane Hali, a former merchant at Macy's who runs retail and merchandising consulting at New York- based Coleman Research Group. "Five years ago, there were fewer fresh young designers being picked up."

A total of 180 designers, 40 of them first timers, are unveiling their work at New York's Fashion Week, which ends today. It includes 70 shows in four white tents at Bryant Park, one block away from Times Square in Midtown. About 2,600 journalists are among the 100,000 attendants, said Fern Mallis, executive director of Seventh on Sixth, organizer of the show at Bryant Park.

"We do our best to seek new talent," Terry Lundgren, chief executive of Federated Department Stores Inc., said in an interview at designer Tommy Hilfiger's show. "It's very important. We never worry about not having enough room for them."

Neiman Marcus

Monthly same-store sales gains at U.S. retailers have slowed this year to an average of 3.7 percent from 4.7 percent a year earlier. At luxury retailers, where most of the new talent get their start, sales have risen 6.8 percent.

Neiman Marcus Group Inc. fashion director Joan Kaner said she's attending about 60 shows, split evenly between established designers such as Ralph Lauren and upcoming talent including Rodarte, started by two sisters in their 20s from Pasadena, California.

"We've added a good number of new young designers," including Derek Lam and Zac Posen, Kaner said.

Esteban Cortazar, a 21-year-old from Colombia who showed his collection of women's dresses with braided straps and fishnet designs, will introduce his line at Neiman Marcus later this year. Nordstrom created Via C, a department that showcases up-and-coming designers, and this year began carrying new brands Jenni Kayne and Doo.Ri.

'Designer's Dream'

Gendler's clothes have been worn by Oscar-winning actors Adrien Brody and Jamie Foxx for photo shoots. "It's every designer's dream to be able to showcase their work on such a scale," said Gendler, who pays his models in clothing rather than money. "Demand for niche brands with their cult-like following is high right now. Because of the show, our sales director has an easier time talking to retailers."

Barneys New York, now owned by Jones Apparel Group Inc., was the first major U.S. retailer to take a chance on Brazilian designer Amir Slama before he appeared at Fashion Week five years earlier. Slama, who created Rosa Cha swimwear and summer fashion coveted by celebrity model Naomi Campbell, also now sells to Federated's Bloomingdale's and Marshall Field's, Saks Inc. and Neiman Marcus.

Slama was on a 16th-floor warehouse with peeling paint and concrete floor three days before his Sept. 10 show, fitting a beige ruffled cotton bikini on a model while three stylists worked on the hair of another. He said his U.S. sales surged to $4 million from about $800,000 since his U.S. runway debut.

Barneys

"Retailers are looking for freshness and newness to separate themselves from competition," said Hali of Coleman Research Group. "They are trying to get the customers back to the stores."

Barneys also was the first major U.S. retailer to stock Project Alabama, known for its hand-stitched cotton apparel by about 130 artisans in Alabama and nearby states.

"We literally showed up with a plastic bag of clothes for Julie Gilhart," a fashion director at Barneys, said Enrico Marone- Cinzano, partner at Project Alabama, which debuted its Fashion Week show Sept. 10.

Shares of Cincinnati-based Federated fell 36 cents to $65.41 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and have risen 42 percent the past year. Nordstrom in Seattle climbed 18 cents to $36.73 and have jumped 85 percent during the same period. Dallas-based Neiman Marcus rose 29 cents to $99.48 and have surged 78 percent in the past year.

'Hang by Their Fingernails'

Many of this year's new comers won't have Slama's success in selling to retailers. Miguel Adrover, a Spanish designer whose avant-garde designs won fashion awards in early 2000s, announced last year he was moving his base back to Spain because he couldn't finance his U.S. venture anymore.

"They hang by their fingernails," said Stan Herman, president of Council of Fashion Designers of America. "They fall through the cracks."

For the first time at Bryant Park, a tent is devoted solely to designers such as Gendler. To help cover their expenses of between $265,000 to $465,000 just to rent space in the tent, designers depend on sponsorships from corporations such as United Parcel Service Inc. and volunteers who dress models.

Simple Look

Fashion Week, which unveils Spring 2006 collections, includes more rose, copper, white stone and other neutral colors, said Linda DeFranco, New York-based trend forecaster at industry group Cotton Inc. Pants will be more tailored, and embellished and beaded styles will be toned down, she said. Edwardian influences such as higher collars, multiple buttons and higher waists also will dominate the spring style.

"We are returning to a more simple look," DeFranco said. "Young designers are going to create a buzz. That's their job. They are going to be more theatrical and more energetic."

The new crop of talent will try to follow the lead of designer Tracy Reese, whose beaded and laced clothing dresses celebrities from Minnie Driver to Julia Stiles. She said her eight- year-old business has grown 15 percent each year and expanded with buyers from Saks Inc. to Bergdorf Goodman since she began presenting at Fashion Week five years earlier.

"It made a tremendous difference," Reese said. "It glamorized the product. It's no longer just clothes hanging in the showrooms. People actually know who you are."

--Editors: Bielski, Merz, Chan