Trina Turk Launches Menswear

Los Angeles designer Trina Turk recently expanded her apparel offerings to include menswear, with a launch of a new line exclusive to her Palm Springs, Calif., boutique. According to Turk, the menswear extension is based on overwhelming inquiries from male visitors to the store, which she opened in March.

“The Palm Springs store was basically a showcase for our women’s line,” said Turk. “But guys were coming into the store all the time, wanting to buy something.”

Turk said that up until recently, the store only offered a few vintage menswear pieces, but since the audience was already looking for product, she responded with expansion. The new Trina Turk Menswear line features tops and bottoms designed with what Turk calls a “Palm Springs-cocktails-by-the-pool vibe.”

“We’re doing flat-front Bermuda bottoms that are kind of low-slung in stripes, prints and solids, made of twills and stretch canvas,” she said. “We’re also doing a slightly flared trouser in prints and solids and a real preppy-styled blazer. It’s definitely not out there in the menswear market.”

Turk said that immediate plans are to keep the menswear line in the Palm Springs store but added that if all goes well, the line will be offered for wholesale by next year.

“We’re going to see how it goes,” she said. “We’re deciding if we want to jump into another production. We don’t want to lose focus on our main objective, which is our women’s line.” —Darryl James