Space Cowgirls Gets Hitched
Los Angeles-based Space Cowgirls is officially back in the saddle after a six-month hiatus on the market followed by a new licensing deal with intimate-apparel maker Shirley of Hollywood.
The junior label and the intimate-apparel company, which manufactures Intimate Attitudes, Risqueacute; and private-label lingerie at its factory in Vernon, Calif., recently announced they will collaborate on an 18-month licensing contract that allows Space Cowgirls’ co-founder Kimie Leary to head up the company’s design department and oversee production of lingerie, dancewear and clubwear for women.
Eric Schlobohm, sales manager and export manager for Shirley of Hollywood, said,“Kimie’s energy and expertise and styling talent compliments our company’s experience and what we’ve done for so many.”
Schlobohm said this is the first time his company has tested the junior market.
“We share some of the same customers, but this is a tremendous opportunity for us to enter some new markets,” he said. “The emphasis in the line is hip, vintage looks that can be sold to better boutiques and independent retailers. This is a great way for us to test other markets while maintaining our position in missy categories.”
The Los Angeles-based Leary said her partner/mother, Linda Leary, has stepped down from administration duties and will become a silent partner in the company. “I feel like most of my job is already done,” said Linda Leary, who is planning to move back to San Francisco, where the company began in 1997. “Besides helping the company launch, my main role in the company was to believe in my daughter. And I was right about her talent.”
Kimie Leary was raised in San Francisco, where she earned an Associate of Arts degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in 1994 before working as a designer assistant for such independent designers as Celia Tejada and Weston Wear in Northern California. She has also worked as a technical design assistant at the Gap and performed garment development for Fritzi of California’s private-label accounts, including Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant and JCPenney.
“She reminds me of me starting out,” said designer Julie Weston of Weston Wear. “She’s gung ho and very creative. I think that it’s a very difficult environment to start a business from ground up. Right now it’s all about strategic alliances, and Kimie has a lot to offer with her creativity.”
Space Cowgirls’ sales have grown from $10,000 in 1997 to $500,000 reported in 2001.
Despite phenomenal sales, Leary felt a merger was necessary. She said one of the perks for her company as a result of the deal with Shirley of Hollywood is the ability to mass-produce her product. Last year, she had to pass on an offer from Urban Outfitters to create a Space Cowgirls line program because she didn’t have the capability to produce large volumes. Now that’s not a problem.
Schlobohm said his company was immediately attracted to Leary’s unconventional approach to designing her collection—which is similar to Betsey Johnson with its outrageous prints, trimmings and form-fitting silhouettes. “It’s really saucy stuff,” Leary said of her apparel offerings. Fittingly, Space Cowgirls just finished printing a 28-page color catalog that was designed to look like a pin-up magazine from the 1950s.
Leary’s frilly, curve-enhancing collection for Spring blends vintage-inspired prints with fabrics not ordinarily used to make intimate apparel (including cotton-stretch poplin) and consists of 27 pieces,including separates, dresses, camisoles, hot shorts and underwear. It also boasts a mixture of international influences, including ruffled-lace cha cha cha hot pants and Japanese-schoolgirl plaid miniskirts with matching hot pants. Price points are moderate, ranging from $6 for a thong to $35 for a basic stretch-crepe dress.
Space Cowgirls is currently sold at over 400 stores nationwide, including Hot Topics. Schlobohm projects sales of close to $2 million for 2002.
The line is also sold at specialty boutiques, including Amore Lingerie in San Diego, Blest in Los Angeles and Patricia Fields in New York. For more information, call (800) 421-9359 or visit www.spacecowgirls.com.
