Relic
Alan Del Rosario is about to reinvent himself. The Los Angeles-based designer is getting ready to launch a new contemporary line of novelty denim and knits called Relic.
“It’s time to go for a more mainstream customer as opposed to high-end clientele,” explained Del Rosario, who spent several years designing high-end eveningwear for celebrities and fashionistas before entering contemporary fashion.
The Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion award recipient said creating high-end fashion is often risky because it’s such a specialized market.
The designer learned this firsthand when his company ran into financial woes last year after a major department store canceled a large order following 9/11. He said it took a few months to reorganize the company, which he scaled down to include less expensive fabrics and a more trendy approach to fashion.
Relic’s cute and sophisticated collection of knit tops and denim bottoms includes 60 pieces for women between the ages of 16 and 45. Some tops are ruched, while others have an old romance novel theme that resembles the cover of a Harlequin paperback. Novelty styles in denim range from five-pocket basic with leather appliqueacute; to lace-imprinted denim. Treatments include hand-sanding, stone-wash treatments and screen-printing.
Relic’s wholesale price points range from $30 to $50 for knit tops and $55 to $75 for novelty denim. Del Rosario said the line is already completed and his company is offering 8/30 and 9/30 deliveries.
The company is planning an official debut for Relic at the August run of New York’s Intermezzo show, but Del Rosario said he will be showing the line during Los Angeles Fashion Week, June 7–11, at Circle 5 Showroom in suite B-536 in the California Market Center (formerly the California Mart). For more information, call (213) 622-6922. —Claudia Figueroa
