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BLOGS > Retail Therapy > Bridge to Blass

Retail Therapy

On the hunt with shopping editor Carol Tisch.



Bridge to Blass

by

The crowd loved the Bill Blass line at the trunk show, even if it wasn’t really couture.
 
By Carol Tisch
 
It was standing room only at The Table/Mesa Lounge Wednesday night for the fashion show produced by three local women who own the Sarasota-area franchise to Bill Blass New York trunk shows. It’s a curious concept. The trunk show isn’t held in a store as you would expect because the clothes aren’t available in stores. So what’s the deal?

 

Models at the New York show.

 

From September 13 to 18, you can schedule an appointment to try on the clothes at Penthouse 206 in the Rivo by calling or e-mailing one of the partners. It would be a fun thing to do. (To schedule an appointment call Bobbie Ayers at (941) 993-4380; Anne Juliano at (941) 586-0424; or Teresa Finley at (941) 918-1144.) As long as you understand that what is billed as couture is at best a bridge line, not to be confused with the real Bill Blass couture you would find at stores like Saks Fifth Avenue or Henri Bendel.
 
This is Bill Blass does Saks Off-Fifth (at full price) at the Rivo. Maybe that’s uncalled for. The clothes are just as nice as Dana Buchman’s or Ellen Tracey’s. And no one faults designers or those who own their names for capitalizing on the equity in a signature brand. Lord knows, other people are knocking off their new collections before the stuff gets into the stores. So why shouldn’t they beat them out with step-down lines?
 
It’s the couture reference that troubles me. I guess I expected the designers at Bill Blass to do really fabulous ‘knock-offs’ of their signature style. Some were. But the quality of fabrics was inconsistent, and the collection had no real point of view.
 
Still, the audience had a great time. Everyone got a cheat sheet with the rundown on each outfit and pricing – only a few of the 29 coordinated outfits had any one item priced over $1,000. The models all looked fabulous and strutted like catwalk pros.
 
For the evening, everyone could pretend they were bigwigs at a New York couture show.
 

 

Posted: 9/13/2007 9:41:23 AM | 0 comments



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