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Forecasts for women's clothing trends in spring 1996 include wider use of linen, plus embroidered rayon crepe for a very feminine look. Manufacturers who reveal their new contemporary lines include Mica, Emil Rutenberg, and Robin Piccone. Also described are junior styles, which feature bright prints. Lighter weight denim clothing will be used for jeans, dresses and shorts. Also, swim suits will vary from vivid tones to flowered prints., CONTEMPORARY Contemporary manufacturers have come to realize what an important role linen plays in developing their spring lines. Not only are designers offering linen in a variety of weights, they [...]

Manufacturers of activewear are planning to increase their production of clothing for women golfers a growing market. Jockey International Inc., Nicole Miller Inc. and Reebok Golf are among the companies that plan to sell their products in clothing and department stores as well as golf shops, where women's gear may be relegated to the back of the store. Also gearing up to enter the market for women's golf wear are Nike Inc. and Adidas AG., NEW YORK -- Most people watching the current women's golf tour have their eyes on Kelli Kuehne, the reigning U.S. and British women's amateur champion. Vendors of golf apparel, however, [...]

Polo Jeans Co, a new firm founded by Ralph Lauren, just opened its first showroom for women's jeans at 575 Madison Ave, New York, NY. Shipments of the line, which includes fleece and sportswear based on denim, will begin Aug 1, 1996 to around 600 stores. The basic jeans will compete with Calvin Klein and Guess and are priced at $48. Sales of $300 million are eventually expected, although results for the first year were not projected., NEW YORK -- 'It's very interesting to be out there on every level,' said Ralph Lauren as he toured the floor of the new Polo Jeans Co. showroom at 575 [...]

Manufacturers of jeanswear are expecting that rethinking their marketing efforts will improve sales and customer loyalty in 1996. Guess Inc. plans on restricting the distribution of their jeans, and will also expand its product line. Lee is planning a big advertising effort centered around the 1996 Summer Olympics Levi Strauss jeans for women division reported a 33.5% rise in sales during the 3rd qtr 1995., NEW YORK - For the jeans crowd, growth isn't coming easy anymore. Denim manufacturers are finally seeing a dip in their numbers after three or four go-go years when, it [...]

Women's sportswear designers for the bridge and designer markets are planning their strategies now for 1996, including aggressively pursuing affluent consumers. Expansion of product lines overseas has encouraged many companies to increase their production for 1996, and are predicting 20-30% growth on the year. Many companies are still fighting for market share, and some, such as Donna Karan and Escada, are opening early to catch customers willing to pay more for designer clothing., NEW YORK - As retail continues to shift, manufacturers in the bridge and designer markets look for new territories for expansion. Not everyone has the same approach. For Ralph Lauren, [...]

Western-style jeans remain distinctly different from their non-western counterparts, and extremely popular in some areas of the US. The jeans' differences are marketed as prime attractions, including changes made for horse riders such as longer inseams and snugger backsides. Colored denim had been popular for some years, and seems to be fading in favor of blue, black, and some bi-color jeans. One popular western look are jeans without back pockets, to better display, according to retailers, women's butts., DALLAS -- Some of the biggest names in jeanswear don't carry much clout with rodeo gals and country music fans. These women like their jeans high-waisted, overly long and tight [...]

The surf style, featuring retro looks such as madras, stripes, classic logos, and earth tones, is back, to the benefit of specialty surf shops. North Hollywood, CA's Val Surf, in reaction to the mainstream surf look that was prominent starting in 1989, is offering a more subtle look featuring earth tones, plain colors, and retro influences. The marketing activities of four other surf shops are discussed., After a downturn in the late Eighties, the surf business is riding the waves again, touting retro looks like Fifties- and Sixties-inspired stripes and madras, earth tones and classic logos. [...]

Women in the 1990s long for fashion that is more comfortable, and that can be worn for more than one occasion. Activewear manufacturers are responding by creating new categories of dress, but retailers are slow to catch on to marketing implications. Department stores focus on sport themes when marketing apparel, and sporting goods stores play up activewear's technical advantage. Activewear manufacturers are finding more ways to sell their merchandise., Retailers try on a new way of outfitting women The sight of Florence Griffith-Joyner flashing across the finish line during the 1988 Summer Olympics one long fingernail at a time [...]

NEW YORK -- It's getting tougher for tenniswear marketers to serve up an ace in the court of endorsements from the sport's elite athletes. That's largely because in America's increasingly [...]

BIARRITZ, France -- France may be famous for its wine, chateaux and cuisine, but here on the country's southwest coast, it's all about surfing. Locals call it 'le petite Calefornie,' [...]

NEW YORK -- The world of Lauren by Ralph Lauren is getting bigger. On track to hit $400 million in wholesale volume in its first year, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, [...]

Despite their laid-back products, casual vendors have to be proactive when it comes to keeping their businesses on track. So, proactive they're being. Some are switching up their designs to [...]

NEW YORK -- Ellen Tracy's ad budget for spring may be holding steady, but its new print campaign will mark the debut of model Jacquetta Wheeler for a brand long [...]

Sportswear and dress vendors come in all shapes and sizes, but a couple of key trends are influencing large segments of the market in 2004. Color came first to the [...]

NEW YORK -- The Fundamental Things and Casablanca career sportswear brands are making a comeback. International Direct Group, based here, will reintroduce the moderately priced labels during this month's market, [...]

A mix of nobles and royal fashionistas mingled at Milan's trendy Galleria Sozzani cafe-restaurant last week at a party hosted by Hydrogen, a high-end sportswear brand with a vintage feel. [...]

Since arriving in North America in 1996, the Mavi brand has grown into a $40 million enterprise on the continent. But over the past year, its growth track in the [...]

NEW YORK -- Sports have become entwined in the fabric of American life and have inspired a spate of new films, books, photography exhibitions and a dance performance. Activewear executives [...]

Women's sportswear and dress vendors are a hearty bunch. In the face of a challenging market over the past two years, the group has adjusted on several fronts to maintain [...]

REEBOK TO TAKE PARIS: Reebok will be camping out in the Eiffel Tower this month during the World Track and Field Championships to spotlight its new Outperform the Vector advertising [...]

LOS ANGELES -- Little about Seven2, OP's new line of junior contemporary swimwear, resembles the run-of-the-mill surfwear of Hawaiian prints and tropical scenery. Racier and more embellished than the standard [...]

People don't need a five-iron to wear the line of jeans identical twins Chip and Pepper Foster have launched for fall. The high-energy minds -- and David Spade look-alikes -- [...]

LONDON -- Speedo's marketing always has favored people over product and credibility over hype. For this company, advertising means training the world's future water sport champions and dressing those who [...]

After years of brandishing their logos on scores of products across various categories, activewear giants are testing some new formulas going into the crucial second half. For some, that means [...]

It can take time, but for contemporary designers, it's all about building an empire. Even if these companies may be smaller than the major design houses, designers in the contemporary [...]

Designers are serving up sportswear this season in a decidedly different way. They're mixing fabrics and textures not typically thought to work together and creating funky, cool [...]

Located at 170 Columbus Avenue, the 3,000-square-foot space offers fitness-related information via electronic ticker tapes, photography books by the likes of Herb Ritts and Annie Liebowitz and colorful displays reminiscent [...]

ELLESSE BOLSTERS TEAM: Ellesse, the 40-year-old Italian athletic brand, has beefed up its design team for this month's relaunch. Newcomers include Carlo Grippo, director of apparel and accessories; Chris Lee, [...]

Casual lifestyle vendors are in survival mode. They're looking for ways to convince cautious retailers to spend money in the midst of a punishing economic slowdown and the looming threat [...]

'I like to see what's being said, get into their heads and see how they're getting their feelings across,' Mamet said. 'I'm not that age anymore. I can't pretend to [...]

NEW YORK -- Have Nike and Puma replaced Abercrombie and Delia's as the coolest of teen brands? Not exactly, but they're giving these junior specialists a run for their money [...]

NEW YORK -- It's all about growth. Whether it's opening new stores or expanding into licensing, contemporary sportswear makers know that every step taken can make or break business. With [...]

Retailers will find some of their prayers answered at a new and improved StyleMax in Chicago this October. The largest women's clothing market in the Midwest will feature a new [...]

Travel On, Young Pants To Ann Brashares, a pair of jeans can be much more than covering for the legs. They can be an emotional reservoir. 'I loved the idea [...]

NEW YORK -- In most circles, 'old-school' isn't exactly a compliment. But in a strange twist, the typically technical athletic market is brimming with nods to the past, and sports [...]

NEW YORK -- Knowing at least one customer was devoted enough to name her pet goldfish after Dana Buchman, the designer could imagine such fans looking for her name in [...]

SEARLE STRETCHES OUT: Less than three months after its opening, Searle is already expanding its store at 1296 Third Avenue at East 74th Street in Manhattan. The company has signed [...]

LOS ANGELES -- When Peter Kim took the helm of his family's $25 million moderate sportswear firm, Saymee K., five years ago, he made a basic, but crucial decision. 'I [...]

The question that everyone keeps asking is, `How do the 9/11 events impact fashion?'' reflected Carol Meek, the Dallas-based co-president of New York trend forecasting firm Color Portfolio, at a [...]

Lee Makes a Wish Lee has one big wish: to get a bigger chunk of the junior jeans business. It also has a problem: Many teen girls think of Lee [...]

NEW YORK -- This winter's tepid temperatures have some snow sport companies reexamining their core business and trying to energize their brands with different categories. In terms of frequent participation, [...]

NEW YORK -- They were splashy and fun in the Sixties, and this season, Marimekko prints are back. The renaissance of the Finnish textile firm's designs started in home furnishings [...]

NEW YORK -- Ever been tempted to run to the corner store in your nightgown? Designers are familiar with that urge, and for summer, they're offering street-worthy alternatives to the [...]

Y BY JERELL One-year-old junior sportswear line Y by Jerell is targeting style-savvy teens whose interests extend beyond pink bubble gum and boy bands. 'Y is about more sophisticated looks [...]

The sportswear merry-go-round continues as five of the most familiar brands from the last WWD survey two years ago returned to the top 10, while five new entries emerged on [...]

NEW YORK -- While many apparel companies are retrenching and holding back on starting new divisions, apparel firm Wearfirst Sportswear is taking a different route. The New York-based company has [...]

NEW YORK -- So long as the allowances keep coming and nothing happens to Britney, it seems there's nothing to worry about. While sales of fashion jeans dropped off along [...]

NEW YORK -- Reebok will launch an aggressive advertising initiative aimed at women this evening during the premiere of 'Survivor Africa,' the third season of the CBS reality series that [...]

SAN DIEGO -- There were precious few board shorts shown at the ASR Expo, which closed its three-day run here Saturday, as surf and skate brands evolve beyond their traditional [...]

Instead of lounging by the pool in Las Vegas, Mecca executives will be pitching the streetwear brand's new licensed swimwear. Knowing many women don't have to live by the beach [...]