Family Business: Top Secret and Louis at Home
Creating practical clothing runs in the Varat family.
Andrea Varat, 29, and Michelle Varat, 27, founders of Top Secret innerwear, are the fifth generation of apparel manufacturers in their family, dating back to their great-great-grandfather who tailored uniforms in Russia. Their father, Andy Varat, owned Tail Activewear, a line of tennis and golf wear, for 35 years until 2008.
Last year, their mother, Cynthia Varat, launched a line of women’s sleepwear and robes called Louis at Home, named after her father.
Top Secret bandeau bras and bralettes started as Michelle’s side project to wear underneath the skimpy and slinky racer-back tank tops that were all the rage.
“I was making a couple basic styles for myself and realized that all these designers were putting these styles out there and there was nothing to be worn under it,” said Michelle, who studied engineering.
She had planned for a career in the technology or operations aspect of the clothing industry, but as Top Secret gained speed, she ran with it.
Andrea was working in New York at the time on Scoop’s wholesale line, Scoop Beach, and moved back to her hometown of Miami to join her sister’s company. Top Secret is sold primarily to contemporary stores such as Intermix and Madison.
Access to the family business resources has helped product development for the sisters, who have no formal fashion design education. The family business in Miami has a free-lance patternmaker, sample rooms, cutting facility and small sewing operation. About 60 percent of Top Secret (basics styles) is manufactured in Colombia, and 40 percent of the line (fashion styles) is manufactured in Miami. Wholesale price points range from $16 to $26 for bras and $30 to $35 wholesale for loungewear.
“A lot of times, we’re just playing in our sample room with our patternmaker and draping fabric. That’s how a lot of the loungewear [was created],” Andrea said. She added that reorders on the fashion pieces can be made in Miami and shipped in days.
Top Secret’s new loungewear camisole tops, launched this year, are like extensions of the bralettes with an underpinnings feel. For Spring 2012, Top Secret is branching out from its usual nylon/elastane, Supplex and stretch lace fabrics and has added items in stretch woven silks.
Louis at Home
Cynthia Varat started Louis at Home much the same way as Top Secret.
Cynthia was looking for the perfect bathrobe and would bring her store purchases to her husband’s sewers to alter the sleeves and hemlines.
“He got fed up with it,” Cynthia said. “He said, ’Go get yourself some fabric you like, work on the styles you want, and let’s make them up.’ He said, ’These look terrific, and I know they’re not out there.’ Before you know it hellip; I found myself manufacturing.”
Louis at Home is Cynthia’s first attempt as a manufacturer. Her professional experience was as a buyer in designer sportswear in Miami in the 1970s for Burdines department stores, which was acquired by Federated Department Stores Inc. and integrated with the Macy’s stores.
Cynthia possessed a fundamental understanding of the business, but she turned to her daughters to learn the modern innovations.
“Doing business is not the same, at any level, as it was back then. So many things are outsourced. Technology—the girls have helped me with that,” Cynthia said.
Wholesale prices for Louis at Home range from $50 to $110, and the line has been sold to specialty stores, resort and spa gift boutiques, and fine home and bedding stores. Robes and nightgowns offered in Pima cotton are manufactured in Peru.
The “Signature Collection” of items uses a fabric specially developed by Cynthia and her husband. It has a two-sided appearance of brushed satin on the outside and cotton on the inside.
A family tree of a father, sons, a mother, daughters, nephews and cousins working together all under one roof can be challenging but also rewarding.
“We both came into the business with different strengths,” Andrea said. “One thing that our grandfather always said was, ’Leave work at work. When you come home, it’s family time.’ As long as we all follow by that, it works out.”—R.C.
