Couture culture: If it sells in boutiques it should sell at mass

The fashion industry is a fickle business—what’s in today may be out tomorrow. Major modern entertainment properties—like Pirates of the Caribbean, American Idol, Shrek, the Simpsons, Hairspray the movie and even Playboy—and their licensees have developed cachet in the apparel and accessories markets by creating red carpet buzz and then introducing product into high-end specialty boutiques before they bring the product to the mass market.

“The best analogy I can give is that we drive our business like a fashion house,” said Daniel Landver, vp and part owner of Lucas Design International, which designs and manufactures jewelry for Pirates of the Caribbean (under the Disney Couture label), Playboy, Rocawear and other brands. “We debut our high-end limited fine jewelry collection like a haute couture fashion collection with a full red carpet launch and then launch the ready-to-wear costume version within 90 days at a specifically targeted retail-exclusive mass retailer.”

Pirates of the Caribbean jewelry made its first debut on the necks and fingers of several celebrities at the red carpet movie premiere, which took place May 19. The high-end pieces then landed at Kitson shortly after, for their 90-day exclusive. A costume collection then followed at Spencer Gifts.

Lucas uses a similar strategy with its other jewelry lines, too. The Playboy White Trash Charms collection was launched at a major Hollywood bash at the end of May. The collection then moved to Los Angeles boutique Ron Herman for a 90-day exclusive period. The company is also making jewelry for the upcoming movie “Hairspray,” which launches in theaters July 20. The high-end sterling silver collection will sell at Kitson, and then a costume line will launch later on at Claire’s.

Making limited quantities of the high-end product, then debuting that product at boutiques, allows Lucas to figure out which products will eventually sell best in its mass-market costume line.

“The fine jewelry is always made in limited quantities so it allows us to gauge which are the best sellers, then drive incremental sales of those pieces to mass market,” Landver said. “We drive business not only to our own brand but also bring incremental business to both [the retailer’s] store and online store.”

JEM Sportswear, which manufactures licensed graphic T-shirts for properties including Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, the Simpsons and many others, uses a similar strategy when it launches its properties at retail.

“We focus on launching a brand in the high-end market, build a campaign around it, and then take the product to mid-tier or mass,” said Randi Spieker, vp of licensing for JEM Sportswear and affiliate Awake Inc. “The high-end success story gives the brand product appeal to the mass consumer.”

In addition to creating buzz at high-end boutiques, JEM has also had success driving traffic into the mid-tier retailers it partners with to sell product.

“In mid-tier, it’s all about a shop concept at retail with a strong ad campaign,” Spieker said. “For our American Idol juniors’ and girls’ tees, we partnered with Macy’s on an in-store promotion supported with advertising. Fans could meet ‘American Idol’ finalist Lisa Tucker and have her sign a tee for them.”

Like Lucas, JEM also differentiates the product it distributes from boutiques such as Lisa Klein to mass merchandisers like Target. To do so, JEM uses different printing techniques, graphics and price points, Spieker said.

However, no matter where JEM’s product sells, one thing is for sure: Customers at every point of retail are becoming more and more fashion savvy, so it’s necessary to constantly refresh merchandise.

“The mass consumer has come to expect a quality, fashion tee at a good price,” Spieker said. “The graphic T-shirt market is constantly changing … We bring out fresh styles every 60 to 90 days because young, hip consumers want something new all the time.”