DESIGNERS : Recession or Not, Opulence Sells
It has been said that the opulence of the ‘80s is over. People are paring down, scaling back and staying home.
Someone forgot to tell those on the charity ball circuit.
In fact, if the enthusiastic response to the Mary McFadden and Arnold Scaasi fashion shows in Beverly Hills is any indication, there’s still money in those hills and quite a few people itching to spend it. Lush brocade dresses, lavish sequined lace sheaths and brightly colored belle-of-the-ball gowns with price tags into the thousands sold at a brisk pace at Saks Fifth Avenue.
A simple, little black dress was nowhere in sight.
“The more extraordinary I make a dress, the more likely it is to sell, regardless of price,” says McFadden, whose signature pleated gowns have been classics in American evening wear for nearly 20 years. “Everyone has a basic wardrobe. You have to make something they don’t have.”
After the McFadden show, customers bought $150,000 worth of clothes from the designer’s fall collection, which includes evening separates in jeweled and 24-karat gold threaded fabrics inspired by McFadden’s recent trip to Java. Typically, her trunk shows generate $30,000 to $70,000 in sales.
“There are always going to be people buying the most beautiful things available in the marketplace,” notes McFadden. “That never changes.”
Arnold Scaasi, whose black-tie fashion show featured Lurex-threaded zebra print dresses, agreed: “A woman who loves beautiful clothes loves beautiful clothes. Why should she look boring?”
“A lot of designers are playing down, but I don’t think the woman is playing down. People are spending money on clothes that are different and that work for a special occasion.”
“We’re in a very luxurious year. If you look at the fabrics, they’re very lush and rich looking.”
Scaasi says First Lady Barbara Bush buys from this same ready-to-wear line, which is priced from $900 to $3,500, rather than his made-to-order collection, which starts at $6,000.
The day after the Scaasi show, business was brisk. During the first hour the store was open, three women ordered the designer’s $2,450 coffee-colored sequin-and-net cocktail dress. Another women ordered six dresses. Scaasi sold more than $100,000 worth of clothes during his trip to Los Angeles.
“The social calendar hasn’t stopped,” says Saks fashion director Ginny Sydorick.
Some shoppers, she speculates, may have bought gowns to wear to the Carousel Ball, one of the most lavish events and coveted invitations this fall. Ball chairman Barbara Davis always wears Scaasi.
Each designer has taken measures to keep prices down. Scaasi says his prices have remained stable for three years. McFadden says hers haven’t gone up for two years “in order to undercut European designers.”
Both have also made efforts to attract new customers by introducing daytime collections with lower price tags.
