Direct From Paris ... to the Mall

Using an army of trend forecasters, Sears scouts the runways in Europe and New York to capture styles that can be copied cheaply for the rest of us.

By VERONICA CHAMBERS and ALISHA DAVIS

One afternoon last month, while supermodels were getting ready to pound the New York runways, a select group of fashion editors prowled the aisles at a Sears in Brooklyn. They were checking out the retail giant's new line of women's clothing and choosing items for donation to a women's charity. By these women's standards, the trip - sponsored by Sears - could have been the shopping equivalent of slumming. But YM magazine's fashion director, Rondi Cooler, couldn't resist trying on a tube top. And Cosmopolitan senior fashion editor Atoosa Behnegar had to admire the stitching on a black blazer.

The editors' visit was a kind of coming out for Sears. The chain may not be a style leader, but it bas become a surprisingly astute interpreter of the hottest trends. Renee Sheffey-Brown, fashion director at Essence, summed it up as she paused at a table in the lingerie department: "When did Sears start selling velvet thongs?"

The answer is, since the chain's Product Development Trend Management group recommended it a year ago. This is the same group responsible for the Vivienne Tam-inspired mesh T shirts, the brightly colored sheath dresses and African print skirts that the store is featuring this spring. The fashion renaissance began five years ago, when Sears began sending members of the group on regular trips to Paris, London and Milan to determine the best colors for the season, as well as the right silhouettes and cuts. Their suggestions paid off. Sears posted a 4.8 percent gain in sales of apparel for 1997, white competitors Dillards rose 2.6 percent and JCPenney was up only .7 percent. Sears executives say the new emphasis on fashion is part of the chain's overall makeover - in the face of financial troubles - from an appliance and hardware retailer to a full-service store. "Sears's shopping environment has changed dramatically," says CEO Arthur Martinez. "We've added more than 12 million square feet devoted to apparel which is the pathway to our female customer."

Sears is now only a year behind the latest styles, compared with two or three years behind in the past. The bamboo-handle bag that Tom Ford showed at Gucci last year for $640 is close to the one offered this spring at Sears for $20. The leopard prints of Diane Von Furstenberg's new $190 wrap dresses are reinterpreted at Sears as a wrap blouse with matching black pants for $69. Instead of an Oscar de la Renta sheath shown on the runway in a fabric so delicate the designer probably won't ship to stores (it would cost $1,900), shoppers can pick up a Sears knockoff for only $44. That's much quicker than most chains' designer copies.

To a real fashion maven, the differences are obvious. But for the rest of us, a lower price tag is more desirable than a fancy label. How does Sears do it? "Whenever you make a lot of something, it's cheaper," explains Connie Marsh, Sears's fashion trend manager. "We have to trade down in fabric, but we want to deliver the best-quality fabric at the price. Diane Von Furstenberg has moved into a silk-matte jersey. Ours is most likely a polyester-rayon blend. We could use a little Lycra, but Lycra is going to bring the price up. So we probably won't. But if the color is right, and the cut is flattering, the consumer will appreciate it."

Niche marketing helps, too. The company now mails 160 million catalogs in 18 categories every year and features two fines by African-American designers, including Mosaic, by Alvin Bell. A veteran whose career has included stints at Anne Klein and Halston, Bell initially balked at the idea of designing for Sears. But he was won over by the opportunity to make fashionable clothes at affordable prices. "My sister works at Amtrak. My aunts are schoolteachers," says Bell. "For years, my family couldn't afford my clothes. Now they can."

This year, in 50 stores in the Southwest, Sears is testing a new line of clothes targeted to Latina women by a designer named Sandra Salcedo. Plus-size women also bring a lot of business to the company since many of the clothes are offered in sizes up to 24. (The Gap, in comparison, stops at 16.)

So what will Sears come up with next? Last week's fashion shows offered plenty of inspiration. "The double-layer skirt that Vivienne Tam showed could definitely be interpreted for our misses department," says Marsh. "I also liked the cranberry-red color that we saw at Halston. Reds always sell well for us." Especially in velvet thongs.

Newsweek, April 13, 1998, p.64-65.

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