New Challenge to Fashion’s ‘Old Guard’ : Creating exciting styles with realistic prices is the goal of New York’s young designers.
They’re young, in their late 20s and early 30s. They’ve learned fashion is a business as well as a creative endeavor, and their clothes are seldom priced more than $500. While they’re not out to dethrone New York’s best-known designers, their more realistic prices and modern sense of style are making strong impressions on retailers and fashion-conscious shoppers across the country.
They’re New York’s new guard, snapping at the hallowed heels of Seventh Avenue’s old guard, a group so established we know them by their first names: Geoffrey, Bill, Oscar, Calvin and Ralph. And members of this new guard--who will be showing their women’s fall collections here next week--have definite ideas about where New York fashion is going in the ‘90s.
The complete list of significant newcomers is about a dozen names long, but some of the strongest are Rebecca Moses, Gordon Henderson (see related story), Jennifer George, Michael Leva and Carmelo Pomodoro.
“A lot of the established designers who’ve built an image over a 10- to 20-year period may be afraid to lose the identity they’ve achieved,” says Rebecca Moses, 31. She has been designing under her own name since 1981, and three years ago she added a second label, the Rebecca Moses Collection.
“My contemporaries aren’t pigeonholed yet,” she continues. “And I don’t have a look that’s so identifiable yet. I think customers want something they don’t expect. It’s really important that clothes are wearable, not weird. But they have to be exciting.”
For fall, Moses has given her collection, which retails for about $185 to $730, a Sherlock Holmes theme. There are caped coats over shorts; lots of beaded, pearled or quilted vests, and checks and plaids--”with intellectual sexiness.”
Gordon Henderson emphasizes affordability, too. “It’s not only that we’re a new guard of American fashion,” says the 33-year-old Henderson, who opened for business a year ago. “This is a really talented group of designers going after what they believe in--whimsical, thoughtful clothes people can wear and afford.
“To me, the older, established designers still seem to be in the same category as the Europeans. They seem to emulate them. Their look is established. It’s expected. It’s the young people who are taking chances. The problem has been that American designers haven’t believed in American fashions. This new group does believe.”
Henderson has built his style on basic American sportswear and active sportswear shapes. For fall, he’s showing ‘50s campus, stadium, lodge and homecoming looks, priced from about $95 to $400.
Jennifer George, 30, has had her own business for three years. She got started just after Stephen Sprouse, the hottest name among younger New York designers in the ‘80s, went bankrupt.
“There’s a group of us who are less flash-in-the-pan than the crowd from five years ago. They came on so strong. We’re mindful that fashion is a business, not just a glamorous, fun thing to do.”
Asked about the older generation of New York designers she and her colleagues are muscling in on, George says: “There’s nothing to negate about the established designers. They have a market--a customer who is aging with them. But I think there’s room for a little bit more.”
The “more” from George for fall is what she describes as “a very modern collection, but underline the Mod part.” She offers lots of short shorts worn with ribbed tights and short, heeled boots, and a wide range of colors, from brick to olive to persimmon.
And she also has a formal look. “You have to understand my interpretation of evening wear. It’s not Bill Blass. I do a taffeta apron over short shorts and short boots. To me, that’s not classic.” Her separates retail for about $300 each.
“They have a million different names for us--the new generation,” says Carmelo Pomodoro, 34, whose Seventh Avenue business is three years old. “We’re at the point where we have enough experience behind us from both the fashion and business side, and we’re ready to take a leap. It’s inevitable that a group like us would get attention.”
As a member of the new guard, he has just one complaint about the other: “Some established designers may have lost their spontaneity.”
Pomodoro has two themes for fall: chic survival, which includes distressed and sporty looks made luxurious with fabric and detailing, and ‘60s inspired granny chic, including crocheted shawls, chenille, lace and brocade. His prices range from $200 to $600.
Michael Leva, 29, has been in business since the spring of 1986. He talks about clothes as product.
“It’s not just about fantasy but clothes being useful, exciting and beautiful--they do a lot and say a lot. My theme for fall is simplicity of construction because I want clothes to be beautiful, but also affordable.”
For fall, Leva says he has a “slightly” Renaissance theme for his collection, which retails for about $150 to $450: tunics, dark colors, bloomers and swingy shapes inspired by men’s wear from that era. But he describes the look as modern.
“I’ve also used a lot of zippered looks because they’re racy and fun--very ‘jet’ and easy.”
Leva says his generation has one thing in common that sets it apart from its predecessors: “We’re all very different in what we do but similar in the sense of affordability.” He adds: “Our clothes are a little more real.”
He agrees with others who predict the two guards will peacefully co-exist. “I don’t think we’ll takeover the market. There’s plenty of room.”
Store buyers are well aware of the potential of this new generation.
“There’s a new strong group in New York, and we carry a lot of them,” says Ginny Sidorick, fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. “For the most part, I see them as a new price line. You get a lot for your money. And it’s fashion forward--more clean, sleek lines. They are a challenge to the old guard because everybody is price conscious today.”
She adds: “I don’t think there’s a conflict with L.A. designers. I think there’s room for all of them.”
I. Magnin’s Wilmer Weiss agrees. “We’re very excited about the new group of New York designers and have been using them for a couple of seasons now. They’re filling in a gap in the market that occurred when prices soared for designer clothes. But I don’t see it as the new versus the old group. They complement each other.”
“I don’t think it’s the same customer,” says Fred Hayman Beverly Hills’ Karen Schneider. “I think you need both--the old guard as well as the young, spirited designers. We need them to attract a younger clientele. They’re salable, innovative, young and, at the same time, commercial without being boring.”
And how does the old guard feel about this new challenge to their supremacy on Seventh Avenue?
“It’s a whole other spirit,” says Geoffrey Beene. “They become more of a challenge to stimulate. The energy is needed as a catalyst for doing one’s best work. The more the merrier.”
Bill Blass concurs. “I think they all have substance. They’ll be around. Believe me, it’s welcome. They have more validity. Others we’ve seen in recent years have made huge impressions and then haven’t lasted long. This is definitely a new, solid generation.”
