Taylor and Hyde
Gregg Fiene has a talent for addressing the forgotten customer in the middle of markets. When Fiene started G-Squared Fashions Inc.—the company that produces Taylor and Hyde, the young contemporary line Yank and juniors line Seleacute;—he set out to address the customer in between the contemporary and juniors markets.
“There is no gap between contemporary and juniors, but there is a customer there,” Fiene said. “You either had to spend over $250 for a jacket and a pair of pants or you had to buy a $49 pair of pants. There’s nothing in between.”
Fiene’s new dress line, Taylor and Hyde, fits in the next niche up—in between the young contemporary market and contemporary market pricing. The idea for Taylor and Hyde was hatched by one of Fiene’s department-store clients who thought the quality of Yank’s dresses belonged in the contemporary section. Fiene’s client suggested that he add a dress line with a slightly higher price point than Yank to hang in the contemporary section.
“We felt the customer wants perceived value more than $300-to-$400 silk dresses [currently available]. They want to pay less, but they want the quality and they want the styling. So we’re giving them quality, the fit, the styling, the expertise and design at a price where it’s probably 20 to 30 percent less than the contemporary market,” said Fiene. Wholesale price points range from $69 to $99.
Fiene leads the design team. He left XOXO in 1999 and joined Aziz Clothing, where he launched Yank, with a winning track record as a co-founder of XOXO, and relaunched Seleacute;. His new company, GSquared, retains the Yank and Seleacute; labels, plus Taylor and Hyde, and boasts the same design team from XOXO. XOXO earned sales revenues of more than $100 million at its peak in 1999, when he sold the company.
Fiene described the style of Taylor and Hyde as less about dominant trends and more about what is flattering on women and what women want to wear for their own lifestyle.
The styling is thoroughly contemporary, with a Women’s fit that Fiene succinctly said is “pretty, feminine, sexy.”
Key styles vary from romantic, silk dresses with lace detail to a graphic original-print dress with sheer polyester overlay.
Though it was a department store that suggested that Fiene launch a contemporary dress line, Fiene estimated that the majority of his accounts are specialty boutiques. The line has been sold to stores such as M.Fredric, Metropark, Arden B, Dillard’s and Macy’s in Florida in the updated department.
For more information, contact the Bryan Wilson Showroom in suite 802 of The New Mart at (213) 629- 2201.
—Rhea Cortado
