Howe Offering Women's Line at Project
Jade Howe, designer of the 4-year-old Howe menswear label, is launching a small, exclusive women’s collection with a few key pieces Aug. 28–Sept. 1 at the Project Trade Show in Las Vegas.
“The girlfriends of the men we already dress— friends, rock stars, musicians, ’indie’ executives, financiers, celebrities, etc.—have literally bombarded me every day for years with the question, ’When are you going to do women’s?’” said Howe, designer and president of the Santa Ana, Calif.–based company. “It’s really in response to them, to give them their version of the Howe vibe.”
Taking cues from his “cowboy punk–meets– English country gentlemen” men’s collection, the designer anticipates the full women’s collection will have a “cowboy punk–meets–English country madam” look.
For Project, Howe created a women’s version of his popular “Skinny Puppy” jeans. The pants have the same lean fit as the men’s style, with a few changes to create a women’s premium fit. The back panel was moved forward to allow for a narrower fit on the thigh, the pockets were resized and the back yoke was made smaller to raise the pocket height, according to Eric Wical, Howe’s general manager.
Howe is also showing several women’s T-shirt styles with resized graphics. The fabrics in the women’s collection, including Italian stretch fabrics and Pima cottons, are similar to the men’s. The T-shirts have the same layered printing techniques, washes and details as the men’s line.
The collection includes about a dozen T-shirt styles in a range of colors. Wholesale prices range from $20 to $24 for the T-shirts. The “Skinny Puppy” jeans wholesale for $95 and come in two washes, the “Ice” wash and the “Union Pacific” wash.
Wical said 12 percent of Howe’s customers are women who are buying pieces from the men’s line for themselves, according to a customer survey conducted at Howe Homme, the company’s retail boutique in Santa Ana.
“We get our cues from our men’s success and translate them to our girlfriends and female friends,” Wical said. “We are not trying to be something that we are not, something that does not follow our heritage. We are true to the denim heritage that has always been based in West Coast lifestyle, [English country gentlemen] and alternative music.”
Howe’s men’s and women’s collections are in Project booths 1109 and 1111. For more information, call (714) 892-2533.
—Alison A. Nieder
