California Apparel News

The lace, silk and chiffon evening gowns designer Alan Del Rosario is known for are nowhere to be found in his Los Angeles studio. Instead, trapeze jackets, polka- dot tops, silk blouses and jumper dresses hang on racks. The transformation is all part of Del Rosario’s grand scheme for 2007.

One year after relaunching his eponymous line of eveningwear dresses, Del Rosario has put the collection on hold to focus on Baby Tears and Bow & Arrow, his new diffusion lines that target the juniors and contemporary markets, respectively. “It was a business decision I had to make,” Del Rosario said, fresh from three weeks of traveling to show the lines in Las Vegas, Dallas and New York. “It’s March. Can you imagine how crazed I would be right now if I had to show my eveningwear at Fashion Week?”

While Del Rosario’s dresses readily found their way onto the red carpets, getting them into the stores proved more difficult. To compensate, Del Rosario, who made his runway debut as part of Gen Art’s Fresh Faces showcase in 1999, shifted his attention to strengthening other areas of his business.

“Eveningwear is a slow burn. It’s a very specific market, and there aren’t a lot of stores that cater to the eveningwear client. So it takes a long time to build relationships, get your name out there and develop confidence in your brand,” he said. “In order to survive, you have to create other labels where you can see the results of your hard work faster.”

That’s where Baby Tears and Bow & Arrow come in. Sportswear’s four seasons, quicker turnaround and bigger market seemed like the perfect venue for Del Rosario to build a steady business.

Now, with his full attention trained on his two fledgling brands (Baby Tears began shipping last March, and Bow & Arrow first showed in October), Del Rosario has his hands full. Besides designing dresses, skirts, jackets, tops, outerwear and pants for each collection, Del Rosario is preoccupied with avoiding the pitfall of cannibalizing his own business. “You have to keep both brands very separate, very distinct,” he said. Bow & Arrow has a vintage European flair with clean design and upscale touches. Baby Tears is younger, sweeter and more embellished. And Del Rosario is already cooking up another label. The as-yet-unnamed brand features street-savvy pieces heavy on grommets and hardware for Fall 2007. Conjured up as a 30-piece collection of separates to accompany denim, the line may eventually grow to include jeans.

Del Rosario said being fully immersed in his new brands has paid off. “There is a difference from when I was also doing eveningwear. I think now they’re cleaner, more focused— more a reflection of me as a designer,” he said. “And I’m so far ahead! I’ve already designed everything through November.” Retailers seem to be responding to Del Rosario’s efforts. Major accounts—including Henri Bendel, Anthropologie and Metropark—have either written orders or expressed interest in the brands.

Out of evening

Del Rosario isn’t alone in looking outside of the eveningwear market for added business. Los Angeles–based designer Dina Bar-El, a longtime fixture in the eveningwear market, offers a collection of moderately priced prom dresses and last year looked to bolster her business by adding cocktail dresses to her repertoire. At about half the price of her evening dresses, her cocktail dresses allow her to reach a segment of women who don’t have the need or the budget for her evening gowns. “Eveningwear can be tough. You have to build a name and reputation for yourself, and that can take time. Cocktail dresses are my way of branching out,” Bar-El said. Eventually, Bar-El hopes to grow her cocktail-dress business to at least 35 percent of her business.

Kevan Hall, another Los Angeles eveningwear designer and a favorite of the Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week crowd, is also finding ways to expand beyond the gown niche. “I’m in the process of signing and researching various licenses for accessories, jewelry, handbags, shoes and fur. It’s about branding and getting the name to the forefront,” Hall said. “It’s a way for us to have a total look for our client that buys a special dress and wants to complete the entire look with the same sensibility.” A licensed diffusion line may also be in Hall’s future. “It’s a way for me to reach a larger audience,” he said.

Designer Louis Verdad is also gearing up to launch a diffusion line and denim collection of his own this year.

Still, Del Rosario said his strict focus on Bow & Arrow and Baby Tears isn’t permanent.

Spring 2008 will see the return of the Alan Del Rosario brand, and the designer said it will be bigger and better than ever. “I’m going to bring it back as a full collection, not just eveningwear,” he said. “It’ll be edgy and sophisticated—but with a twist.” Day dresses, skirts, blouses, jackets and trousers will round out the collection.