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"With the new price must come a new look, a new feel, a new concept altogether," said Cyril Murkin (HK) Ltd. managing director Tim Everest at the Hong Kong International Fur & Fashion Fair. Feb. 28-Mar. 2. "This is happening. Manufacturers have made a great effort to change their styles, to bring variety into their collections."
And so the 1996 wholesale season kicked off recently in Hong Kong, shocking retailers with substantial garment price increases and forcing manufacturers to reassess their merchandise mix. Some mink pelt levels have doubled in recent months, and makers have to look for alternatives to the most popular of all furs. Not only was this reflected in the landscape of the fair, it has begun to influence style.
Like the popular $1,195 (retail) mink, expansive sweeps in short or long silhouettes, plus draping collars, complex skin treatments and huge, bell sleeves might soon become relics of the past (or at least definite status symbols), as manufacturers and retailers alike struggle to maintain opening price points. In the past few years, more body-contoured fashions with closer mod or military cuts in clothing have been endorsed by major designers anyway. Yet many furriers, keeping in mind demand and the difficulty of imposing such restrictions on the traditional fur consumer, have been slow to embrace this trend. Now economics might be bringing them into the fashion fold, as retailers ask the question, "Is it harder to sell 30% price increases or closer fits?" |
