Hot Topic and Serious Clothing Hope for Gold With Glitterboy Line
Rock ’n’ roll rules some parts of the radio dial, but Magnus Walker thought the music had not yet staked a claim in the world of fashion.
“Every rapper does a fashion line, and many of them are wildly successful,” Walker said of lines such as Sean John by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. “In the alternative-rock genre, there doesn’t seem to be any clothing lines made by musicians. We feel there’s a market for it.”
While Bono lent his name and inspiration to recently released fashion line Edun, Walker teamed up with rocker Davey Havok to produce the cut-and-sew line Glitterboy for Serious Clothing, the Los Angeles–based company Walker co-owns with his wife, designer Karen Caid.
Glitterboy will be Serious Clothing’s first label designed in collaboration with a rock star, and Havok should be a good choice to launch the 14-piece line. His band, A.F.I., is signed to Dreamworks/Universal Records and commands the attention of an obsessed fan base nicknamed the “Despair Faction.” Havok is known for being fashion savvy and for cutting a dramatic figure with his heavy eye shadow and long hair.
Hot Topic, based in City of Industry, Calif., plans to introduce the line in 300 of its 603 stores, beginning in May. It will be one of the first fashion lines designed with the active participation of a rock star to be carried by the retailer, known for bringing rock and goth fashions out of the nightclub and into the mall. Hot Topic has also sold StilettoKillers by Kelly Osbourne and Level 27 by band Good Charlotte. The retailer has been Serious Clothing’s main client for 10 years.
While cut-and-sew lines remain a strong part of Hot Topic’s retail mix, the retailer’s biggest business comes from sales of T-shirts bearing the logos of rock bands and popular movies.
Last year, Hot Topic launched a merchandising strategy called “Dark Romance,” inspired by rock star Amy Lee. But making a direct match between rock stars and fashion is something novel for the retailer, said Jeffrey van Sinderen, a retail analyst for B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles.
“Hot Topic has been in the process of finding new styles of merchandise to drive men’s and women’s fashion apparel business,” van Sinderen said. “And some of those styles started to work. You don’t want to play down the potential for their men’s and women’s fashion apparel business.”
Each piece of the Glitterboy line features the heart-shaped logo conceived by Havok. The women’s pieces include the triple-layered ruffled “Kiss” skirt and the “Angel” top, a double-layered, raw-edged pink-and-black tank. Men’s fashions include low-slung, boot-cut jeans and a pin-striped, military-style shirt with armbands. Wholesale price points range from $6.50 for a tank top to $22.50 for jeans. Polo shirts and hoodies round out the predominantly black collection.
The Glitterboy project started when Walker and Caid became friendly with Havok, a frequent visitor to Serious Clothing’s boutique on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue. In the summer of 2004, Walker spoke with Havok about collaborating on a line to sell to Hot Topic. In the fall of 2004, they informally showed the collection to Hot Topic buyers. The retailer decided to pick up the line after store managers heartily approved it during a national meeting at the company’s headquarters.
Walker said Serious Clothing has been looking for ways to expand its brand of rock ’n’ roll streetwear. Earlier this month, the company debuted a lingerie line at Hustler Superstores. Walker said he will judge the success of Glitterboy before starting new collaborations with other rock stars.
Walker declined to state Serious Clothing’s revenues. The company employs 14 people and maintains a 26,000-square-foot warehouse in downtown Los Angeles. Walker and Caid turned the top floor of their warehouse into a sumptuous space sometimes used for filming television shows such as UPN’s “America’s Next Top Model.”
