Coterie + Sole: Daily Diaries

by The Daily Front Row

(NEW YORK) Commerce flourished at Coterie this season as over 1,400 brands and an estimated 22,000 retailers convened at the Javits Center and Pier 94 in New York City. By most accounts, business was trending upwards at the booths forecasting a promising year ahead, particularly in the Russian and Asian markets which boasted a significant retail presence at the show. “The overall feedback was really positive,” said Coterie show director, Emilie Cooke Lewis. “The show seemed busy, buyers were placing more substantial orders, and the quality of traffic was ideal.” Naturally, The Daily was on hand to round up the show’s hautest trends, buzziest brands, and insider feedback from the floor. Without further ado!

SEEN AND HEARD
TV personality turned clothier Whitney Port made an appearance on behalf of her brand Whitney EveNicky Hilton was spotted in the luxe occasion department with mom Kathy who was showing her eveningwear collection…Kate Spade New York had its inaugural outing at the show, just in time to fête its 20th anniversary…Denim doyen Johan Lindeberg presented BLK DNM to the trade show cognoscenti for the first time with rave reviews…G-Lish expanded into the footwear category…Autumn Cashmere amped up the focus on girls’ knits from toddlers to tweens…Tom Ford Eyewear debuted as a major player on the floor…Ted Baker London reintroduced a limited-edition TUX range this season…Ronen Chen launched a new line of frocks called Dressed by Ronen Chen…Zoe Couture stepped into the lounge category with cashmere slippers…Desigual introduced shoes along with a special preview of its new home line, “Desigual Living”…Coterie regular Yoana Baraschi rang in her ten year anniversary with one of the busiest seasons on record…Ipanema drew a crowd with three popular hits: Neo Mix, Maya, and Unique…Mackage created a stir with the launch of its handbag line hovering around the $400 mark…Amy Matto worked her booth like a pro, eight months pregnant—with twin boys, no less…Blank launched a Girls collection…Christopher Fischer’s intarsia sweaters gained traction in his booth along with his mixed media sweater assortment…Josie Natori revealed a new store in the works for her contemporary brand, JosieShopbop buyer Jenny Fuchs summed up one of her busiest Coterie seasons as a “whirlwind of Diet Cokes”…Elizabeth and James tipped us off to an upcoming fragrance launch in 2014…AND! The Daily has big news of our own: the launch of The Daily @ENKVegas. See you in August!


KEY TRENDS

Toughen Up: Leather continued to hold favor with editors and buyers alike on separates, outerwear, and even trim. One rule of thumb? More is more.
Für Elise: Shaggy, mix ‘n’ match vests and mixed media outerwear gave retailers that warm, fuzzy feeling.
Power Play: Brands like Theory edged up the classic power suit with a splash of color while ultra-femme looks using sequins, silk, and floral motifs took over at brands like Alice & Olivia and Haute Hippie.
Golden Slumber: Silk printed pajamas abounded in and out of the boudoir.
Dominant Jean: Printed jeans were still de rigueur for Fall, alongside the re-emergence of the boyfriend silhouette and the denim overall.
Mad Hatter: The chapeau is at the top of its game this season. Think structured styles with tall crowns, oversize floppy numbers nodding to the ‘70s, and everything in between.


TOP NEWBIES TO KNOW

Front Row Society
Calvin Rucker
Articles of Society
Terra New York
Dean Davidson
Nerida Winter
Paper London
Piamita
Gladys Tamez Millinery
Elkin
by Ti.Mo
Kelly Cole
Bless’ed Are The Meek
Strom
19.4t
Max.Tan
Hender Scheme
Julian Hakes London


PLUS! BRANDS WEIGH IN
Koren Ray, chief visionary officer at Hobo: “We’re so grateful to have wonderful news to talk about. Sales are up, up, up! The hottest thing at Hobo is our new Soft Tumbled collection, our most iconic heritage styles crafted in supple, casual leather. Also, our top-selling Lauren clutch wallet turns ten this year. We have big birthday plans in the works!”

Salvatore De Tomass, designer at Searle: “Coterie is still the best exposure. We didn’t expect such a reaction. Everyone is excited Searle is back! We can’t give away too many details yet, but we’re in talks with a partnership with a big retailer on 5th Ave.”

David Helwani & Ursula Braeger, designers at Twenty: “We are already in most of the top department stores and specialty boutiques in North America, so we made a concerted effort to appeal to the average American customer by adding more price conscious groups without sacrificing our quality and design. Thus far, we’re on pace to increase our 2012 sales 60 percent!”

Biya Ramar, designer at Johnny Was: “Although attendance was a bit down [at the booth], there was an increase due to deeper buys, which made this season at Coterie extremely profitable for the company. It also didn’t hurt to be included in The Daily’s Best Booth selection!”

Nadia Tarr, designer at Nadia Tarr: “Fall was all about convertibility and wearability. Buyers wanted flattering silhouettes that looked good on most women—not just the skinny gals! Our most popular items were the padded shoulder pencil dress, the reversible peplum skirt, and the pin leg pants in leopard.”

Daniella Clarke, designer at Frankie B. in Agent R.E.D. International Showroom: “The show went extremely well. The Fall collection went all out rock ‘n’ roll, which paid off because retailers loved the uniqueness of our bold colors, prints, and fabrics. The consensus was that our jeans and leggings were like nothing else out on the market. The hottest commodities were our most extravagant styles from the New York printed jeans to our lace printed and coated Ponte leggings.”

Carole Kotler and Ana Schoenberg, designers at B-Low The Belt: “Sales continue to grow season after season. Our key trends this season involved deep colors like bordeaux and midnight along with narrow belts with subtle embellishments.”

Zayan Ghandour, designer at Zayan: “We had a 50 percent increase in sales from last year. We noticed buyers in the U.S. focused on the color block story while Middle Eastern and Japanese buyers were interested in big volume skirts and metallics. Our volume tutus were our best-selling silhouette!”

JR Morrissey, designer at Morrissey in Agent R.E.D. International Showroom: “Stores are buying more concise assortments, and focusing on the special pieces that convey value, like our well-tailored jackets made in New York or our leggings which offer special details like leather piecing. Oh, and people stopped in their tracks when they saw our corner booth with a custom made ‘Brooklyn Café’ offering Brooklyn brewed vodkas and whiskies. It pulled in new clients and gave us something to help break the ice!”

Pia Pauro, designer at Pia Pauro: “We always do well with dresses, but we saw a big increase in sales with our separates and our accessories. Most of our sales year-round come from the Coterie shows.”

Cathy Lee, designer at RoviMoss: “We were so fortunate to have quite a few of our “wish list” stores visit our booth and write orders. We also saw stores that bought into Spring place re-orders as they were already seeing the product sell; this confidence in our product significantly increased the orders for Fall. People responded to the absence of trendy details and our red bags were a huge hit!”

Karen Erickson, designer at Erickson Beamon: “Coterie is certainly the show to conduct international business. The brand was incredibly pleased with this year’s show. For us, bold color was as important as ever, especially in unexpected, modern pairings.”

Daniella Helayel, designer at Issa London: “We saw an increase in sales for our fit-and-flare dresses. This was our strongest silhouette. U.S. buyers were interested in the muted tones; international buyers loved the metallics as well as our outerwear, which attracted new customers.”

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