Coming Soon by Yohji Yamamoto

[La bordélique]

wwd.com

Yohji's 'Coming Soon': Designer Joins the Rush To Launch Second Lines

Published: Friday, September 14, 2007
By Miles Socha with contributions by Akira Miura
PARIS — Even esoteric designers like Yohji Yamamoto are joining the contemporary stampede.

Yamamoto is launching his youngest, most affordable offering yet, called Coming Soon. The "supercasual" collection, licensed to Italian manu­facturer SINV SpA, is designed to propel the Japanese designer into the big-volume leagues. The partners, who signed a 10-year pact, expect that the women's and men's collection has the potential to generate wholesale volume of 200 million euros, or $276 million at current exchange, over the length of the contract.

Yamamoto's new line is the latest sign of a vibrant market for designer second collections — often positioned in the hot contemporary zone and aimed at aspirational customers. During the past year, the likes of John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Vera Wang and Daryl Kerrigan all have entered the fray with lower-priced collections. Meanwhile, Giorgio Armani, Chloé and Dolce & Gabbana all have fine-tuned or repositioned their second brands in recent years, seeking to kick-start growth and access a broader base of consumers. And brands such as Quiksilver, Imitation of Christ and Hollywould are jumping into the contemporary market, which has been a popular category at retail from Dallas to Dubai.

Designer firms — recently focused on ultraexpensive, exclusive products in a booming luxury climate — are now keen to reach younger customers, too, and are less reticent about assigning licenses for the sportswear category. For example, Galliano partnered with IT Holding's Ittierre unit, a pioneer in launching designer jeans and younger lines in the early Nineties, while McQueen signed up with SINV, which also produces and distributes See by Chloé, Moschino Jeans and Red Valentino.

"See by Chloé will be a major priority for us in the coming years," Ralph Toledano, chairman and chief executive officer of Chloé, said Thursday. "In the last two years, the See by Chloé growth has been really impressive."

Toledano said he would soon extend the See by Chloé brand into new categories, unveiling an in-house leather goods line in January and a footwear collection in July. "Sunglasses will probably be the next project," he added.

Massimo Braglia, ceo of privately owned SINV, said the company shifted its focus in recent years to fashion-driven collections, a move which drove 2006 revenues up 44.5 percent to 164 million euros, or $226.3 million. Sales are projected to climb to 175 million euros, or $241.5 million, this year.

But the fact that Yamamoto and SINV decided not to use the designer's name on the Coming Soon label suggests that it is creative content, and not only the status factor of a label, that is driving the second-line business today. "We believe that the design should be more than enough," Braglia said.

Yamamoto's first Coming Soon collection, with some 350 references and an emphasis on jeans and knitwear, will be unveiled to the trade in January during men's fashion week in Milan.

"It should be quite an affordable line. It's young and contemporary," Braglia said. "I think a line like this could have a really great potential."

In an interview, Keizo Tamoto, Yamamoto's executive vice president and ceo, said Coming Soon is targeted at young consumers looking to trade up from streetwear to "something with a little bit of elegance, a more simple way of dressing."

Tamoto allowed that Yamamoto's signature collection, mostly tailored, is often so singular that, "if you buy a Yohji jacket, you need Yohji pants and maybe you need also a Yohji shirt and shoes. It's a very dangerous line." By contrast, Coming Soon is described as a mix-and-match collection of easy-to-wear styles, from blouson jackets to T-shirts and accessories.

The partners said the new line could be sold in as many as 800 doors in Europe, mostly independent specialty stores, which compares with about 250 for Y's, Yamamoto's main sportswear collection. In America, Braglia is gunning for about 100 select department stores and specialty retailers over three years. Yohji Yamamoto Inc. will handle Japanese distribution.

Prices have yet to be finalized, but Tamoto said most jeans would retail from 150 euros, or $207, to 230 euros, or $317, with knitwear averaging from 120 euros, or $165.60, to 200 euros, or $276. T-shirts will start at about 70 euros, or $96.60.

Over the past five years, Yamamoto has been broadening the reach of his brand with new apparel lines and product categories, including his Y-3 sportswear collection with Adidas, his luggage and accessories line with Mandarina Duck and his fine jewelry with Mikimoto.

Yamamoto also has been expanding his retail network, with his largest store in the world slated to open later this month in Antwerp, Belgium, showcasing his signature line, the Y's range, fine jewelry and Limi Feu, the collection of his daughter, who is showing her spring collection during Paris Fashion Week. Next up is a unit on Gansevoort Street in New York's Meatpacking District, slated to open in January, followed by a three-level unit on Rue Cambon in Paris in March.

Tamoto noted that sales of Yohji Yamamoto and Y's in Japan have remained unchanged for the last few years, at around 9 billion yen, or $77 million. International sales total about 4 billion yen, or $34 million, including retail and wholesale.

While Yamamoto, 63, might not be considered a top-of-mind designer for young people, SINV executives said they were attracted by his international design credibility and the appeal of Japan's anything-goes, youth-driven fashion culture.

And the Y-3 project underscored Yamamoto's keen instincts, foreshadowing tightening links between fashion and sport, Braglia said. "He understood first the potential of shoes and now how sport and fashion could be mixed together," he said.

[5AvenueMarceau]

If their suppositions about the creative content rather than the branding being the bulk of the line, I'm insanely excited! I love Y's but can only afford the lesser priced items.
Hopefully if this shift they talk about relating to second lines is true, it will give the selfridges buying for the contemporary area a good kick in the bum as frankly, their choices this season, have been less than inspiring.

[adorefaith]

will this include womenswear?...
it mentions that it will be unveiled during men's fashion week...

thanks for the article bordelique...

[belletrist]

Good ol' Yohji needs money to go on holydays?

[Bidwell]

111 million$, I had no idea his sales were so high! What a business man.
Y-3 is terrific but expensive so this should be perfectly accessible. Can't wait to see it.
I presume it is for both sexes but will only see the menswear in January with maybe a preview of womenswear.

[spottie]

What I dislike most about secondary and tertiary lines is that often the designer of the main line has almost nothing to do with the design of the lower-priced lines. To me it's like buying only for the sake of buying a label.

[eugenius]

^Very true, indeed...But lower-priced "Yohji" knitwear? Fine, Im sold..

[wheneveriwakeup]

I hope it isn't tantamount to CDG Play. That was ridiculous, imho. The mention of knitwear sends me into a frenzy, however!

[softgrey]

it is men's and women's

The partners, who signed a 10-year pact, expect that the women's and men's collection has the potential to generate wholesale volume of 200 million euros, or $276 million at current exchange, over the length of the contract.

i agree...the 'knitwear' has the most potential imo...
since that has always been a strength of yohji's other lines...

though in this case...it could mean t-shirts.....

trading up from streetwear.....
i don't know ...
could be geared towards all those denim junkies...
which would be less interesting to me..

still- i am sure i will manage to find something to buy......

GREAT NEWS!!!

[softgrey]

The label doesn't mention Yohji Yamamoto.

[msmartimar]

I like that alot!

[adorefaith]

Originally Posted by softgrey

it is men's and women's

thanks for the quote softie...
i thought i read the article thoroughly...
i guess i didnt...

...
* have to stop speed reading..

[skot4mc]

thanks for the news La bordelique.

[La bordélique]

Originally Posted by softgrey

The label doesn't mention Yohji Yamamoto.

True! I just wrote 'by Yohji Yamamoto' for the search engine fuction.

[bearbrick]

interesting
i was wondering how YY will react to CDG's roaring commercial success - i think - and this may be it .....!!

even though coming soon or whatever will be somethink like a licensing deal ....such deals nowadays proably has a creative control clause that means something .....

however .....this venture must beter more interesting than Y3 which IMO glorified sportwear ....which no one can affford - at least the people whom they wanna aim at....

coming soon will lack the wit of PLAY and the street cred of PLAY but i would be really interested to see this..



WOW antwerp ??? ......does anyone know WHEN exactly ?? it will open ??

Yohji Needs a credibility revamp pronto