New Image May Go All the Way to the Bank
They’re calling it the summer Esprit grows up.
“It had to happen sometime,” Kristin Joyce said at a recent fashion show in Esprit’s Superstore in Los Angeles. She is part of the company’s public-image division.
Better known for camp shirts, casual shorts and T-shirt-fabric play clothes in kid and adult sizes, the 17-year-old company is out to change its image.
“I think bankers will like the look,” Joyce said of the Collection line--a new group of casual sportswear items suitable for the office. (It’s the newest of five divisions. The others are sport, kids, shoes, accessories and jeans.)
Wide Variety
Boxy cashmere blazers, Angora sweaters with plunging backs, old-line English-style check and tweed pants and men’s suede jackets are all meant for Esprit Collection wearers of the world. The clothes will be in the store this summer.
“People tell me they love my shoes; they think they’re by Stephane Kelian,” Joyce said, smiling down at what are, in fact, Esprit leather tasseled loafers. They’re also part of the company’s new “sophisticated” image.
Denim is another addition to Esprit’s expanded line. “Not for cowboys or sexy young girls, these clothes are for people who see denim as part of their life,” Joyce said. There are skirts in three lengths from micro to maxi, five-pocket jeans, shirts and jackets from cropped to hip lengths. Most denims are available in charcoal gray, stone washed or indigo blue.
At the fashion show, a cropped jeans jacket topped a silky, ankle-length skirt that some corporate types could wear to the office, Joyce suggested. The longest denim jacket was treated like a blazer, worn over a belted cardigan and checked wool pants.
Of course there’s a philosophy behind all of this.
“The clothes are pragmatic,” Joyce offered, “because that’s the psycho-graphic profile of America right now. That’s what people want from whatever they buy.” As much as aging gracefully, the company has been concerned with recovering from a drop in sales in fiscal 1986, Joyce confirmed.
Sluggish Year
She listed a sluggish retail year in the industry, rising import costs (Esprit is involved in out-of-country manufacturing), a need for internal cost efficiency and an expensive expansion period as reasons for the drop. (Along with 14 free-standing stores, there are now seven franchised stores with two more free-standing and 20 more franchised outlets in the works.)
But, Joyce said: “We’ve grown, we’ve made some mistakes, we’ve learned and we’re going on.”
Esprit’s tactics on the fashion front are one indicator of the turnaround. The company, which used to offer canvas, logo tote bags and Ripstop nylon carry-alls instead of handbags, has added stamped alligator “Chanel-esque” shoulder bags, as well as faux fur and lizard belts for fall.
