(Though honorable mentions too toTWPandHigh Sport.)
All that said, theres a counter narrative happening too.
Thats an encouraging development as we move into 2025.
From left to right: Khaite, Auralee, Dries Van Noten, Bottega Veneta, and Loewe.
[TWP designer] Trish Wescoat Pound has done an incredible job.
(High Sportpants, too, have done well; we sold 165 pairs in one month!)
Otherwise, itsKhaite,The Row,Bottega Veneta, andAlaia.
Khaite, fall 2024 ready-to-wear
When you break all those down, its really the luxury of chicness and polish.
They come in and they go right out.
Same with the Alaia belts.
Dries Van Noten, fall 2024 ready-to-wear
Women are redefining their waists again.
We dont seem to have price resistance.
Women really want value, and she wants to verify that it feels luxurious.
Sacai, pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear
Theres absolutely no price resistance to it.
Thats really the only logo-ed thing that we sell.
Generally, the woman who is 50-plus doesnt care about price.
The Row, pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear
Thinking across ages is something weve really worked on.
We have really had a post-Covid correction this year.
When we were coming out of Covid, all anyone wanted was sexy, sexy, sexy.
Auralee, fall 2024 menswear
Thats overit doesnt work anymore.
This has been a year where all the talk is about chic and polish and classic.
Also, the sneaker moment is over.
Bottega Veneta, spring 2024 ready-to-wear
Comfort is still importantits not like theyre asking for stilettosbut they want loafers or ballet flats.
This year there has been much less trend, which is great.
Personally, I am not super into trends.
Loewe, spring 2024 menswear
As an industry, we need to do more to support new designers.
The fall of MatchesFashion and Farfetch, these macroeconomic things, have really hurt them.
What are they doing on Saturdays?
Zankov, spring 2024 ready-to-wear
Is it in a ballgown or in athleisure?
These things are so important.
And a year later, everyones coming in and saying, Do you have any high-waisted pants?
Diotima, spring 2024 ready-to-wear
Ben:New ideas: Thats the driver.
You want to put on a new thought.
It has been interesting to see the curve of consuming post-Covid.
Simone Rocha, spring 2024 ready-to-wear
Chris:Now, in 2024, were finding a settling in.
Its the Lynn Yaeger approach: You love that skirt so much?
Well, wear two!
And our answer has always been, Flip it over and check the genitalia!
I mean, its a V-neck sweater!
It was like, Do you need it to go to the opera?
Do you also need it to walk your dog?
It was that most modern idea of turning the codes of design upside-down.
The other person we really love isCecile Bahnsen.
Its the same thing: She makes these evening clothes which are ultimately so easy and fun to wear.
The thinking has been: Lets get dressed up and be a little more serious.
Thats been a really big trend.
Everybody seemed to be very unsure about what to buy because theyre not sure what direction to go in.
They feel like theres nothing to hold onto.
Sacaiwas very strong this year.
Our women loved, loved,lovedthat.
Another new name for us:Song for the Mute.
I mean, if I look at some of the things out there…
They look so boring to me that I would just fall asleep and I wouldnt want to buy them.
And ifImnot going to buy it, [our customers] are not going to buy it!
We carryThe Row, and that did well too.Yohji Yamamotoalso did well.
Ive carried it for a while but this fall, for some reason, it struck a chord.
But Sacai has been the standout.
Shes the most creativeand the most relatableto my clients right now.
They want something elevated, and they want to be seen in itthey just dont want it to shout.
DC has always definitely been that way, but even more so now.
For fall, I did a lot of bags fromMarni; I loved them.
They got eaten up right awayand they werent exactly cheap.
They were a little bohemian, more relaxed than a structured bag.
There is a desire for something more casual, soft, and squishy.
Heels we cant sell.
Or they wantBirkenstocks, or a version thereof.
That seems to be the direction of where shoes are going.
And it has been like that for a while.
Anything that has a stiffness or a tightness, no one wants.
The fabrics have to be luxe.
They like easy and relaxed, but they dont want the big oversized look anymore.
They werent fans of it in the first place, but now?
These are labels which are timeless, but never boring.
Across the brands we carry, outerwear is huge.
Particularly The Row: We get it in and then basically it goes right out.
Driess Pakora trouser is a classic.
The Row, too, has a really nice mens trouser for women that sells and sells.
Also, for us, this has been the year ofAuralee.
I am very proud of them.
Its such an Outline brand, as its fabric-first.
Our customers appreciate the simplicity, as well as their use of color and fabrications.
We also sold alotofMaison MargielaTabis.
We started with that in January, and people love it.
People appreciate fabrics and well-tailored clothes, and Margaret Howell really resonates with them.
We had a great year with thatand a great year withWales Bonner.
We also brought onRenaissance Renaissance, which is from Lebanon.
Its a good price point, and its different, but not at all trendy.
I think its important to differentiate that, because I think trendy clothes are boring.
The sell-through has been so strong.
Its a wonderful brand which marries quality of fabrication, simplicity of design, and wearability.
It works for different ages, and it touches people whether theyre in-the-know or not.
It represents an investment, and our customers are looking to invest.
We also brought in a knitwear brand calledYacaiafrom Norway, and it has been wonderful.
Were seeing more smartness versus casualness.
Thats true of the knits, but also weve had so many requests for a transitional blazer or jacket.
Its not like the womens world, which is so much more adventurous.
People do talk about cost per wear to justify purchasing something.
People want a cleaner, smarter look.
Theyre moving away from the logo-driven stuff.
Its not everywhere, so you have to discover it.
Were smallwe can introduce things to our customers and gauge their reactions.
We could sense that in the way our customers were shopping.
If we pick up someone new, we are very specific about why we are doing so.
We do like to introduce new names into the mix, likeZankovandDiotima.
Another, which isnt new per se but is new to the United States, isJamie Haller.
So we launched that, and it has been doing great.
We are always thinking about how our customer lives her day-to-day life.
The one thing about the Austin customer is that they buy clothes they can actually wear.
For us, it means less slouchy and relaxed and more clean and relaxed, likeHigh Sportpants.
Dressing up here might mean a long dress from The Row with ballet flats.
It really has nothing to do with the design per se.
We carry vintage watchesRolex,Cartierand theyre doing really well for us.
Speaking of vintage, we added a vintage denim bar to the store.
The designers live in Austin, and we did a mini pop-up with them during SXSW.
It went really well, so we asked them to work on a denim bar.
The jeans cost anywhere from $600-1,200, and we cant keep them in.
It was a nice surprisebecause, yes, it was risky.
Sometimes, whether we win or lose, we carry something just for representation.
We put our faith in the idea that people are actually out there looking for runway pieces.
The other label we took this year is the English labelCecile Tulkens.
She also has a nice sense of community, hosting these impromptu happenings at her studio.
We have pulled back on sneakers.
Only this morning I was having a big think about sneakers in the store.
Now I cant tell if its oversaturation, or if I just want to pull back.
One brand that has been selling and selling has beenEnfants Riches Deprimes.
The designer [Henri Alexander Levi] is somewhat of an outsider.
Hes a friend of ours, and a very authentic person.
His work is reflective of his life and interests.
Anyway, it has quite recently really caught onactually, its turned into our most desired brand.
People are beating down our door to get the product as soon as it lands.
Luxury knitwear did well for uswell, all sorts of knitwear: thats kind of low-hanging fruit in Canada!
More in that quiet luxury vibeI guess were still in that world.
Everyone seems to be gravitating towards pieces that theyre going to wear over and over again.
Its less event wear, and moreI can definitely use this every day.
They want wardrobe heroes, likeAshlyn, who makes beautiful, beautiful clothes.
With the conversion rate, we are hit pretty hard.
And we sell a Ukrainian brand,Bettter, which is all upcycled and recycled one-of-a-kind pieces.
We also sell a very curated selection of vintage.
I loveMuglersuits, so we have a ton of those, and people buy them and dont think twice.
Instead, we have sold sets really wellpeople like a set.
Its an interesting, different kind of sexytheres an ease to it that people are responding to.
What has been surprising to me is how people know about brands that are quote-unquote emerging.
So many people are coming in and asking for brands like Zankov, Ashlyn, Bettter.
Theres a huge desire for newness.
Theres not one brand we carry that anyone shopping here has not heard of.
Climate is one thing thats different, but also the location.
In Oakland, our number one category has always been dressesruffles, prints, pops of colorsthey love that.
Women love the brandits cool, it has got an established point of view.
AndDries Van Notenis great for us; its very much a San Francisco/Bay Area label.
Im finding that customers are just wanting things a little more streamlined.
Beautiful fabrics, interesting shapes, textures.
I added a label calledBurc Akyol, who I met through the LVMH Prize.
We bought it for San Francisco.
It is all in black, beautifully designed, and he uses great fabrics.
People really liked it.
Its different, but not so in-your-face that you have to think about it.
And we did a collaboration with a Ghanaian label calledChristie Brownwhich has been really successful.
I was happy we were able to give them something that they could feel good in.
Im seeing that so many of our customers also want to support brands led by women of color.
There is such an emotional connection with what she does.
Especially in this day and age, people want to connect with those things that make them feel good.
Im very passionate about that.
We have to get behind them.
People were a bit more conscious of how much they were spending.
So even if they still bought a luxury item, maybe they werent buying quite as many.
And were talking about wearability more and more.
The look all starts with the shoe.
Its the shoe that tells you the story of what youre going to look like.
There is a difference to getting dressed up, though.
Now, people have been like, you know what?
I just need a great wardrobe.
I have dinner parties and Im going out for dinner and I just want to look good.
So everything that was chosen was chosen methodically, but also really, really elegantly.
Also,Caroline Hu; we love her pieces, and sold them fabulously.
And Zomer, who I already mentioned; it has a real vision.
Theres a specificity to what people want, but its individually specific.
Theres a group of girls who want the cropped wide legged leather pants from Loewe.
In 2024, each of them just nailed it.
