Boy, times are really tough when everyday you read about another store closing. Most recently, Russian celebutante Kira Plastinina announced the closing of her doors. Not exactly a tragic loss. Poor Daddy had to sink $80 million into his 16 year old daughter's passion for fashion. Money can't buy business sense and trying to compete with H&M and Forever 21 for cheap fast fashion is no easy task. I've always been a little annoyed with celebrities and socialites who try to become fashion designers overnight, thinking all they need is a fat checkbook and high profile BFFs. In my book, unless a designer has paid their dues organizing Donna Karan's trim closet or have done their time at Parsons, St. Martins, or FIT, than he or she is NO designer.
I wasn't exactly crushed with the bankruptcy of Kira Plastinina's empire, but today reading about Tracey Ross shuttering her eponymous boutique on Sunset was a sure blow. Not that I'm heartbroken that Lindsey Lohan or Samantha Ronson don't have a safe haven to shop in, but Tracey Ross has certainly been a landmark retailer in LA for 18 years and her closing is an end of an era. I remember back in 2000 when I was running my stacia new york shop in Brooklyn and came out to L.A. to check out the retail. Ms. Ross was kind enough to take the time to meet with me and give me some feedback on my line and let me pick her brain about opening a shop in LA. Although, now when I think back at my meeting with her in her swanky, dark loungy boutique, she was rather condescending. She basically told me to forget about LA retail and stay in NY. Thanks! At the time, I had no intentions or even the slightest inclination that I'd end up in LA, but sure enough 9 years later, I'm here! And I'm glad I didn't take her advice. Yes, I'm happy to have passed on an LA store for Stacia, but sure glad I didn't take her advice about not pursuing wholesale in LA. She basically said unless I'm an established NY brand, a t-shirt or jeans maker, or a celebrity chasing designer, forget about it. Boy, was she wrong!
I'm getting ready to ship out the first Spring collection for Stacia next week and I'm dreading the phone calls to my accounts, hoping they are still in business! I'm extremely loyal to my small boutique buyers and I'm rooting for their success, not just because they buy from me, but because I used to be a small retailer myself. I know how hard it can be and competing with 70% off sales at larger retailers is nearly impossible. Fashion is surely dead if small boutiques die. The small boutiques I sell to are innovative, provide an intimate shopping experience, and make fashion what it is - fun, exciting, and new. But, I have a horrible feeling a lot of these stores will not survive this latest economic blow. I'm praying they can hang in there and get through this bump in the road. So if you're a real fashionista out there, please try to support these small boutiques. Yes, everybody wants a deal, but I hate to break it to you, when a department store sells a designer's line at 70% off, it's the designer who eats it. The big department stores just take whatever loss they make off the designer's invoice or take "mark down money" off future invoices, which is basically not paying for the goods. And that can lead to less designers churning out innovative, exciting, new fashion for you in the future.
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