Jacalyn Bennett
As classic apparel finds its way back into the marketplace, Jacalyn Bennett is enjoying the irony of fostering a seductive vixen beneath a conservative exterior.
“Provocative” is how the company describes its Valentine’s Day/Spring 2005 collection, which will preview this month at Paris’ Salon de la Lingerie.
“It’s very sexy,” said Public Relations and Marketing Manager Tina Santoro. “There’s a lot of sheerness in the collection; a lot of black, fur and velvet details; lace trim; and lots of beading and sparkle.”
Founded in 1989 in Newburyport, Mass., Jacalyn Bennett makes luxurious lingerie for high-end specialty stores and also designs for Victoria’s Secret and various private-label clients. The brand presents two major collections per year and is known for its prints, which are designed in-house. Founder Bennett designs with a mixed-media approach, said Chief Operating Officer Brenda Marchi.
“She takes many concepts and works them together, such as mixing a floral with an animal print,” Marchi explained. “Same thing with fabrications: In the same garment there will be knits, mesh and silk.”
Reversible, fully lined kimonos, the highlight of the line, feature embroideries and placement prints. Other specialties are corsets and merry widows, which can be coordinated to match the kimonos. Fashion bras, panties, boyshorts and baby dolls round out the collection. Wholesale price points run $48 to $68 for baby dolls, $58 and up for corsets, $39 and up for bras, $15 and up for panties, and $300 for kimonos.
Santoro said the collection’s breadth and depth are its strengths. “Having just been at the lingerie show in Lyon, there really wasn’t anyone else with as cohesive a collection as ours, in terms of number of body styles and the way the prints, embroideries and all the details work together,” she said.
The Jacalyn Bennett customer “has money to spend,” Santoro added. “She’s a career woman who works hard, but she’s also a mother. It’s for the woman to buy for herself to feel special, and she’s willing to spend more for glamour and quality.”
For more information, call Tina Santoro at (978) 462-1966, Ext. 674. —Christian M. Chensvold
