Designer Spotlight : Irvine-Based St. John Weaves Empire of Knits, Some of Which Are Now White House-Bound
When Hillary Rodham Clinton makes the rounds at the weeklong inaugural activities later this month, look for her dressed in a lavender, two-piece knit suit at one of the day events or a black dressy knit jacket for an evening gala.
Marie Gray will undoubtedly keep an eye out. After all, the new First Lady will be wearing designs Gray created as co-owner and head designer of Irvine-based St. John Knits.
Although flattered that Clinton’s wardrobe adviser selected a few items from the spring collection for the big shindig in Washington, Gray takes in stride the prospect of having her label hang in a White House closet. She and her close-knit family have always applied an unassuming attitude to the international knitwear empire they have built.
At the helm sits Marie Gray’s husband, Robert Gray, who as company CEO and chairman has guided St. John’s collection into a $90-million enterprise.
Their 26-year-old daughter, Kelly, has infused new energy into the label as its vice president and creative director, overseeing every aspect of the design house’s image--from the interior design of their corporate-owned stores to serving as the St. John signature model for the past decade.
In November, the Grays flew to Munich for the opening of their 13th signature boutique, an occasion heightened by the celebration of the 30th anniversaries of their wedding and the company’s founding.
When it comes to making the final decision on a season’s collection, the trio does it as a team, a process, Kelly says, “that can make for heated dinner conversation.” But the results can prove lucrative. “Some of the best-selling styles have been outfits both Mom and I are dying to wear.”
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For Marie Gray, putting the clothes to the test by trying them on before they hit production has proven one of the keys to the company’s longtime success. “My goal hasn’t changed at all over the years. I try to create a collection that fits well, travels well and makes you feel wonderful when you wear it,” she says.
St. John spins and twists its own yarn, a comfortable blend of 80% wool and 20% rayon that does not require ironing and keeps its neatness after years of use.
Another mainstay for St. John has been not yielding to fashion’s rambunctious whims. “We move with the times of fashion, but ever so gently,” says Gray, who designs suits with a nod to Chanel and stays conservative toward the seasonal yo-yo of hemlines. “I really don’t go for trendy clothes. I believe in classics that will serve a woman well for many years.”
That was illustrated in an exhibit last year at South Coast Plaza. A dress from each decade was on display, from 1962 to 1992, showing how little the basic silhouette of one St. John model had changed.
Classic styling, coupled with high standards of workmanship and quality over the past three decades, have attracted loyal customers willing to spend from $500 for a dress to more than $1,000 for an evening suit. The Grays continue to oversee production, regularly taking to the San Diego Freeway to visit their six factories in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Headquarters and three plants are in Irvine.
Tweezers are sometimes used to hand-create patterns with stones and paillettes, used generously in evening and holiday wear and applied by heat; a labor-intensive procedure resulting in luxurious pieces. Knit fabric is stitched row by row on state-of-the-art computerized machines, an approach that is a far cry from the machine Marie Gray used to knit her first dress in 1962.
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Back then she was Marie St. John, working as a Vanna White predecessor graciously pointing to appliances on TV’s “Queen for a Day.” Dreaming of a honeymoon in Hawaii with her fiance, Robert Gray, an apparel salesman, she decided to raise the extra funds by knitting a few dresses. Despite his initial reluctance, Gray obliged his bride-to-be and showed the sample to a buyer.
“My long-term plans at the time were to make 20 dresses and take the honeymoon,” she recalls. To her dismay, he returned from his meeting with an order for 180 dresses. “I felt devastated. I cried. I figured I’d have to spend the whole year knitting to fill the order. My total knit experience prior to that was a project in grade school where I had to make a pair of socks. As I recall, I never finished them in time and my mom had to help me out.”
After purchasing a machine offered as a prize at her day job and enlisting help from family and independent contractors who had their own machines, the order got filled. And, in a Los Angeles garage, St. John was launched.
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The company now occupies more than 200,000 square feet of factory space. Marie Gray claims about 40,000 of that as her design studio--a “miniature plant,” where samples and originals are made, and home to a large showroom.
No longer a knit resource of little sweater sets and dresses, St. John has grown into a twice-a-year, 200-piece collection that Gray says “takes a woman from career to evening.”
From the first styles, which she remembers as “very plain and simplistic,” St. John knit dresses and suits have become more complex, featuring details such as embellished cuffs, crochet trims and gilded buttons. Basics are still offered in day and cruise lines alongside opulent evening wear. To “give a woman the weekend package to complete her life,” Gray has added more casual pieces in recent years.
To facilitate the single-stop, label-loyal buyer, St. John has opened boutiques throughout Europe and the United States in the past few years, as well as an increasing number of in-house boutiques in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and some major European stores. A boutique scheduled to open in March in South Coast Plaza will be the company’s 14th.
The global expansion was eased when Escada AG acquired 80% of St. John Knits in 1989. The move was to prepare the Grays for retirement and, in fact, the fall 1992 collection was supposed to have been Marie Gray’s last. But that plan has unraveled with the new growth that proved too exciting to walk away from.
Expansion also spurred sportswear and accessory lines and plans to create a signature fragrance. Sidestepping its domestic policy, St. John shoes and handbags are crafted in Italy because of that country’s tradition of experience and workmanship, Marie Gray says.
A jewelry division became necessary as suppliers who made the fine, elaborate buckles and hardware closed, making it more difficult to find quality pieces. Customers also began requesting the jewelry featured in company ads. They had to look no further than Kelly Gray, who had applied jewelry clips to buttons and other hardware and presented them as earrings and shoe clips. A separate plant now electroplates in 22-karat gold textured bangles, chain belts and crystal encrusted broaches for St. John customers.
The younger Gray also pushed sportswear as an integral part of the general collection. She works with two associate designers to create the line, which includes brushed cotton denim peacoats, jeans and hooded knit breakers. This more casual line might appear as a departure from St. John’s signature look, but the separates don’t veer too far, still bearing dressy touches.
Kelly Gray’s contribution has expanded St. John’s following from the well-heeled lady lunch crowd to their career-driven daughters who value the label’s staying power from season to season.
“The market has evolved with us,” says the family and fashion dynasty matriarch. “Because of Kelly, we’ve acquired a wider age span, a new generation of St. John customers.”
