The Evolution of Teri Jon Sportswear
by Venessa Lau
http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/the-evolution-of-teri-jon-sportswear3049920?module=today#
Posted Friday April 23, 2010
Designer Rickie Freeman knows how to shift her company to meet the needs of the
marketplace. When she first launched her Teri Jon line in 1984, it was a suit-driven
business before it morphed into special occasion dressing — the company’s current
calling card — seven years ago. Now, Freeman is changing her five-year-old bridge line,
Teri Jon Sport. Renamed Teri Jon Sportswear, it’s getting a contemporary boost for fall.
The collection, however, isn’t undergoing a complete makeover. “I don’t believe in
revolution, I believe in evolution,” said the designer. “This is an evolution based on what
the customer is telling us.”
To that end, her second line will stay within the bridge arena — and, more importantly,
keep to a misses’ fit — but skew more directional in terms of design. “Women want to
look younger and sexier. Nobody wants to be dated,” Freeman continued, perched behind
a desk in her Garment District studio in Manhattan. “They want something a little closer
to the body, but if they’re not contemporary fit and they don’t want that boxy look, then
that’s where I come in.”
Of the punchier new lineup, which wholesales from $95 to $450, Freeman said: “The
element of edge is absolutely there.” Slim pants feature bold zipper details, while jackets
and tops are accented with 3-D sculpted rosettes, and tweeds come artily lacquered.
There are plays on textures and fabrics, too. A chic navy coat, for instance, comes cut
from a bouclé that runs into a brocade. “She’s raised the bar with fabrications,” said Mark
D’Angelo, the firm’s vice president of sales and marketing, noting that the collection will
include leather and suede garments for the first time. Also new: an increased number of
day dresses at the label, jumping from 3 to 15 percent of the offerings.
“The bridge customer doesn’t want to look like bridge from the Eighties and Nineties,”
said D’Angelo. “The way she’s used to buying contemporary, she wants to find that now
in the bridge world because that’s her next zone.”
The changes, he added, have been two years in the making. In 2008, the collection
changed from the original Jon Sport moniker to Teri Jon Sport. “A lot of customers said
to me, what is Jon?” said Freeman. “There was a little confusion.” She added that she
also wanted to build on the brand recognition gained through her main Teri Jon label.
“In order for the bridge market to emerge and do well, they’ll have to go very modern,”
said Freeman. “Why is the shoe and bag business so strong? Because they’re so
innovative. Every season, there’s something new and special. We’re not dressing people
to cover up their bodies, we’re there to give them a reason to go out and buy.”