Style and Sales Drive Business at Coterie

Fashion was good and business was even better at Fashion Coterie, held Feb. 23–25 at the Show Piers in New York. Buyers from all over the globe turned out for the show despite reports of inclement weather and the threat of war.

Organizers saw a slilght decrease in attendance compared with last year’s Fall/Winter show in February. Approximately 9,600 attendees arrived to shop the 990 exhibitors spread out across three piers.

California was once again well-represented as a slew of Los Angeles-based contemporary designers and manufacturers—including Joie, Tyler, Trina Turk, Corey Lynn Calter, Petro Zillia, Sheri Bodell, Edward An, Mandalay, Single, Dina Bar-el, Poleci and Da-Nang—were swamped with domestic and international buyers placing orders for summer and fall deliveries.

“Business is great—I’m feeling blessed,” said Terry Sahagan, owner of T.S.S. Showroom in Los Angeles. Sahagan was representing San Francisco-based Westonwear, a line of printed, nylon-mesh separates. When asked whether the possibility of war was affecting her business, Sahagan said: “I’m not feeling it as much as I probably should.”

Karen Santos, another representative for T.S.S. showroom, added: “Buyers are being more careful—analyzing, editing, but still buying.”

Buyers bought close to season for Westonwear, according to Santos, who said they were only selling Transition items and didn’t even bring Fall merchandise.

That was also the case with Freedom 11, a new line of Asian-inspired army sweats and separates. The Los Angeles-based manufacturer showed at MAGIC International in Las Vegas prior to Coterie and, according to co-partner Patricia Thornton, left that show with numerous orders despite complaints she heard from fellow exhibitors of low attendance caused by airport shutdowns on the East Coast. .

quot;We’re having a great show,” she said. “We’re writing a lot of immediates and have seen buyers from everywhere—East Coast, West Coast, international [including Germany, Australia and London].”

The mood was upbeat overall as most sales representatives said buyers were definitely leaving paper. A new Los Angeles-based manufacturer that created a buzz was Da-Nang. The company launched a line of army- and air force–inspired pants, tops, skirts, shorts and jackets for Spring, booking 3/30 and 4/30 deliveries. The booth, draped with olive army netting, looked like a fashion fort under invasion.

“And this is slow,” said sales representative Jennifer Lazaruz from the packed booth. Lazaruz owns the Los Angeles-based Showroom 903. “We’re selling to Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue, Fred Segal—every better store in L.A.,” she said, adding, “Planet Blue, Lisa Kline, Theodore—everybody.”

Cristina Angarola, owner of contemporary showroom Cristina Angarola in Los Angeles, said she was swamped. Angarola was busy running from booth to booth and from pier to pier. Several of her designers were exhibiting at the show, including Joomi Joolz. Angarola said people were not buying too far out—nothing past early Fall—but they were definitely buying. She also said her buyers were coming from all over.

“Definitely a good cross section,” she said. “Florida, Alabama, Colorado, and there were plenty of West Coast people here too.”

Angarola said she also saw international buyers, including “a gazillion stores from London,” as well as accounts from Switzerland and Belgium.

For BCBG Max Azria, which was showing Fall, sales were strong. According to national sales manager Marla Sokol, world affairs are a concern, but the company hasn’t seen any negative effects yet.

As far as what’s selling, Sokol said: “Our suitings have been great. A lot of fun cargo, denim and corduroy pants. We have beautiful chiffons with a lot of polka dots, which is fun, denim with ribbing, bridesmaid-style dresses.”

When it came to hot trends at the show, it was no surprise to see a surplus of army-inspired looks (ala the ever-popular Balenciaga-style pant). For many California-based manufacturers, that army style was the foundation for other trends. Soleil Rose offered bomber-style jackets and pants done in Chinese brocades. Freedom 11’s army pieces were Asian-inspired, Tokyo Denim Bank did a Japanese patchwork satin pant with all the trimmings—lacing up the front, cargo pockets and drawstrings at the calf. The company also merchandised key trends together, pairing an orange satin floral kimono-style top with red satin cargo pants. Gold Hawk was on the same tip, offering beautifully embellished silk tunics and Chinese brocade wrap tops with military-style cargo pants and skirts.

Asian influences also turned up on casual athletic and yoga-style clothing. For Fall, Yogi offered pretty tops and pants in relaxing colors—including soft blue, coral and sage—with Japanese characters and floral screen prints. One Life 2 Live offered stylish sweats with Japanese graphics, including pants with a screen-printed patch of the Japanese flag.

Stylish favorites at Fashion Coteriebull; Edward An’s Fall collection of happy-colored wool and tweed coats, pants, skirts and logo button-front shirts.bull; Sheri Bodell’s fur jackets and studded bell-sleeve topsbull; Mandalay’s version of the Balenciaga-style pantbull; Corey Lynn Calter’s striped knit topsbull; Poleci’s wool capletsbull; Petro Zillia’s entire Fall collection