Express fashion job

Today's climate dictates that high-end black designers choose employment over entrepreneurship

YOU'RE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH GIORGIO ARMANI. HE WAS ARGUABLY THE BEST-SELLING designer in the world in the 1980s and a household name by the early 1990s. The Italian designer distinguished himself from the competition by producing high-quality tailored apparel for the mainstream and becoming the brand of choice for celebrities--a winning combination.

But did you know that black designer Patrick Robinson contributed to his success? Back then, the brother was in Italy serving as Giorgio Armani's design director and earning over $100,000 annually. He started with the company in 1991 when he was 24 years old. "I was there for five years," Robinson recalls. "[By the time] I left, the sales of the company had quadrupled."

Later, Robinson spent a year and a half at Anne Klein before the company closed its high-end division. Now, nearly 10 years after his entrance into the fashion business, Robinson is heading up his own firm and showcasing his own line. But he hasn't yet received critical acclaim. In fact, most new, small designers won't reach this plateau either. Why? The barriers to entry into the industry are high and the payoff is low.

Experts say designers need at least $50,000 to develop the samples for their lines, and that doesn't include the money they'll need to produce the line should they make a sale. Plus, many need to redesign their tailored apparel or expand their product lines to address the casual dress trend. According to the NPD Group Inc., a marketing information provider, sales of men's tailored apparel dropped by 0.5% in 1999, while sales of women's tailored apparel were up only 1.9% for the same period.

So what's a black designer to do to survive in today's climate? Get a job with an established label and develop designs that reflect the current trends, say experts. "The real issue is that you do have to work for other people first, because the learning curve is tremendous and one mistake could put you out of business," explains Gary Williams, vice president of Fashion Outreach, a nonprofit organization, and owner of the Gary Williams Showroom, a sales and marketing company for men's apparel. "Most people succeed because they have experience," he says. Opting for employment over entrepreneurship as a means to mainstream appeal may be a hard choice for some black designers. Most prefer going solo. But unless they begin to take an honest look at the industry, many will suffer the fate of the dinosaur--extinction.

HOW ARE BLACK DESIGNERS FARING?

In 1999, total U.S. apparel sales were $184 billion, according to the NPD. Unfortunately, black designers didn't capture many of those dollars. According to Mark-Evan Blackman, chairman of the men's wear design program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, only a small percentage of the industry's designers are African American. "The issue for [black] designers is pretty stunning. when you look in the high-fashion field, there are no successful black designers," comments Constance C.R. White, former fashion director of Talk magazine and author of Stylenoir: The First How-to Guide to Fashion Written With Black Women in Mind (Perigee, $15). "We have a lot of talent out there, but they need money to support their businesses."

The majority of black designers run small, independent shops that don't reach the general public. "You can't make it doing custom goods. To make money you need to be mass marketed," states Audrey Smaltz, owner of the Ground Crew, a company that handles backstage production for major fashion shows all over the world. Traditionally, designers were able to bring-their labels to the masses by developing partnerships with retailers or by getting large firms as investors. However, high-end fashions are declining in popularity among consumers, making these designers less attractive to investors. "That's why these young black designers are starving," Smaltz contends.

Racism also keeps black designers from making the cut. "When you pick up Vogue, Elle or Bazaar, they're always citing the designers to watch, but they're never black. The African American phenomenon never happens. We've gone through the '70s, '80s and '90s, and there is not one black designer that has made a lasting statement," insists designer Mikel Kilgour. He and his wife, Sweet, design the women's collection for Dion Scott, a company owned by Dion Lattimore and Scott Torrellas. He also serves as the firm's creative director in a consulting partnership. "The [high-end] market does not embrace talent from African American designers because people associate a certain lifestyle with the garments they purchase, and black designers aren't considered status symbols by the population at large," he proclaims. "So you might as well work for somebody else because the industry isn't going to make a black designer a star."

CHANGING RETAIL CLIMATE

The fashion arena wasn't always hostile to newcomers. In the past, department stores were willing to try out smaller companies, designers, manufacturers and other professionals. That's how Patrick Kelly, Willie Smith and Stephen Burrows--high profile African American designers--made their marks. However, increase competition from specialty stores and discount retailers and a change in consumer preference have forced department stores to change their strategy.

"Why shop at a high-end department store when you can get the same styles at Old Navy?" remarks Anthony Mark Hankins. The designer, who specializes in turning high-end apparel into more affordable substitutes, has partnerships with Sears and the Home Shopping Network He says today's savvy consumer can "create a designer look by shopping at alternative retailers," and it's at the expense of department store revenues.

As a result, larger retailers are sticking to brands that have a proven track record. They're also getting rid of goods that take up a lot of space, such as furniture and large household appliances. "Now department stores such as Macy's and Sterns largely sell cosmetics, clothes and certain houseware items because these have high profit margins," suggests Teri Agins, author of The End of Fashion: The Mass Marketing of the Clothing Business (William Morrow, $25). "The lion's share of the [department stores'] business goes to their anchor brands, such as Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Polo Ralph Lauren and the ones with a proven track record. There's not a lot of space left for newcomers."

Even if a designer did work out a deal with a major department store, it would be very difficult to maintain the relationship unless a larger company provided the financing. "If you jump into a business deal without any financial backing, it's suicide," cautions Ernest Brown, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for Parisian department stores, a division of Saks Inc. Brown oversees the firm's 44 stores and manages 12 buyers. He has a purchasing budget of $250 million. "Generally, when I go in to preview a line, I usually see two to three deliveries--garments for July, August and September, for example," he explains. "I'm looking at the stuff six months in advance, and if I like it, I commit with a purchase order." This is a contract for payment, but the manufacturer still needs hard cash to fill the order. And according to Brown, the reality is that "it could be a year before you get your first check."

Therefore the majority of black designers will also have to work for a more established label, as Robinson did, if they are going to survive in today's climate. Even some of the more widely known black designers have traded in their entrepreneurial track shoes for runs with more established labels.

"High-fashion designers have told me that financing is the big problem," says White. "If there was a big financier, we have great black designers such as Tracy Reese, Patrick Robinson, Byron Lars and Kevan Hall, who would be great investments." But as it stands companies are generally not investing in high-end designers because casual and urban fashions are the current trend, and even designers of these items have their challenges. Nevertheless, designers can work as employees and still express their creativity, be rewarded financially and make the connections they need to later branch out on their own.

PAYING THEIR DUES

"There are designers who have been [working in the corporate arena] for years. They have their penthouses and are doing well, but they keep a low profile," insists designer Constance Saunders, who honed her craft under the Richard Warren label for 15 years. After 10 years of designing for one of the of the company's newer lines, Saunders pushed for more exposure for herself. "I insisted that they put my name on the label," she says.