The Color Mustard: Classic Cashmere With a Modern Freshness
Cashmere is no longer for just the rich. The luxury knit can now be had at a price tag not far off from a pair of premium jeans or an embellished and complicated T-shirt.
“Cashmere [has become] much more for everybody now,” said Demy Lee-Kim, designer of the new cashmere sweater collection The Color Mustard. “Cashmere is much more casual now.”
The Color Mustard uses pure, highquality yarns in timeless styles with fresh details.
Lee-Kim begins with favorite staples, such as the cardigan and striped sweater, and updates them with thoughtful design flourishes. Dolled-up puffed sleeves and a tie at the neck make a tomato-red cardigan stand out on the clothing rack. An ivory V-neck grandpa-style cardigan with square front pockets is altered for Spring in a lighter yarn and with sleeves that hit right above the elbow.
“I always want to keep it very classic, but it has a modern touch,” said Lee-Kim, who previously designed at Tory Burch. “I like easy clothes.”
Lee-Kim co-founded The Color Mustard with a partner who has 15 years of experience in cashmere production. Lee-Kim heads the design side of the line from New York, and her partner oversees the production, management and distribution of the line from Arcadia, Calif.
Since The Color Mustard is produced in Inner Mongolia, it is easier and more cost-efficient to communicate with the factories and store and distribute the merchandise from the West Coast. Lee-Kim works with her partner, who has an extensive knowledge of cashmere to select quality yarns with longer and finer fibers. Shoppers have recognized the difference.
Retailer Diane Merrick sold through her initial orders of The Color Mustard for Fall 2006 and reordered the styles.
“It’s a very easy sale,” said Merrick, whose eponymous store in Los Angeles retails the sweaters for approximately $200. “They’re a great fit,” she said, adding that the price point is competitive for the exceptional quality of the cashmere, which doesn’t pill, and that the styling and colors are on target with what’s happening in the contemporary market.
Wholesale price points range from $85 for a Henley sweater to $135 for a short dress.
For more information, call (626) 359-9600 or visit www.colormustard.com.
—Rhea Cortado
