Marisa K: On the Move
Designer Marisa Kenson spent several years designing for the Tarrant Apparel Group, one of the largest apparel makers in Los Angeles.
For nearly 15 years, she created all sorts of privatelabel garments sold in bigname department stores before branching out with her own label, Marisa K, a collection of tops and jackets that she started three years ago.
At first, Kenson joined financial forces with City Girl Inc., a Los Angeles missy apparel manufacturer headed by Ron Perilman. When City Girl closed, she had thoughts about partnering with Los Angeles–based Z. Cavaricci Inc., but after a few months of talks, that never came about.
Last year, Gerard Guez, Tarrant’s founder and interim chief executive, acquired the Marisa K label with an eye on developing more in-house contemporary labels to go with his juniors label, America Rag, sold at Macy’s, said Brad Kenson, Marisa’s husband and president of the division.
Now Marisa Kenson is back designing with Tarrant Apparel with a staff of about 40 people. “Gerard created a stand-alone division and let it grow organically to see if it could get some legs in the marketplace,” Brad Kenson said of the label’s first year with Tarrant.
The organic growth took the collection away from embellished tops and nudged it toward the ever-popular dress, which is making a big splash in Marisa K’s Spring ’08 collection. Dresses make up 80 percent of the line, with tops filling in the rest.
For Spring, the collection is heavy on bright colors and prints made of European fabrics. The silk in the collection comes from Asia. Hem lengths are above the knee. The dresses have a feminine flow with touches of ruffles, chain-link straps and off-the-shoulder looks. Wholesale prices are $78 to $92 for tops and about $120 for dresses, with the line being sold primarily at specialty stores throughout the country.
“We are really trying to methodically develop a line where the DNA is apparent,” Brad Kenson said. “We’re embarking on the branding side of the equation.”
For more information, call Shereen Mirtavoosi, Marisa K’s national sales manager, at (323) 780-8250, Ext. 1404. —Deborah Belgum
