Christian Siriano’s career in high fashion has just begun, and he’s already courting the mass market.
The “Project Runway” winner – noted for coining terms like “fierce,” “tranny” and “hot mess” to describe runway looks – has cut a deal with Payless ShoeSource to distribute a line of low-price shoes and handbags at the discount footwear chain next fall.
“I want everybody to have a piece of my brand,” Siriano said on the prospect of being seen as selling out so early in his career.
He noted that, while his first fashion show at Bryant Park in September was well-received, the economic meltdown has kept retailers cautious. His biggest customer is Intermix, a small chain of trendy boutiques.
“Hopefully, for the fall season, the orders will be bigger, and I’ll hear from the Saks and Neimans of the world,” Siriano said.
It’s unusual for an upstart designer to cut a deal with a mass-market retailer. Designers must typically work their way up through the pricier end of the market, starting out with small collections at boutiques. Having carved out a niche at luxe destinations like Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys, a blessed few get the chance to head downmarket for big money at chains like Macy’s and JC Penney.
But smaller players who have worked their way up during the past several seasons “will be decimated in the spring” for a lack of capital, predicted Marc Beckman of Designers Management Agency, which represented Siriano in the Payless deal.
Beckman noted that Abaete, another high-end label, won distribution at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue only after it cut a deal with Payless.
“I have a pretty huge fan base, not to toot my own horn,” Siriano said. “But a lot of those are ‘Project Runway’ watchers and they’re young. They’re in school and aspiring to be artistic and they can’t afford my clothes.”
Siriano’s Payless line, which will debut at New York Fashion Week in February, will be sold at about 400 – or about one-tenth – of Payless stores across the US, Payless CEO LuAnn Via said.
“If it’s fabulous, we could certainly expand it,” Via said.