Nelson: Just Jackets, Multiple Styles
Adrineh Baghdassarian’s 9-year-old knits line, Spool, offered a comprehensive selection of tops, bottoms and dresses to stores such as Anthropologie and Nordstrom.For Baghdassarian’s new line, Nelson, she trims off all the categories from Spool and focuses on just one item: jackets. The idea for Nelson came from the success of a jacket in her Spool line, which she closed last year.
“The first pattern I ever made of a jacket, I sold 2,000 pieces,” Baghdassarian said. “The second jacket I made, I sold thousands of pieces. I only had two jacket patterns.”
Baghdassarian launched Nelson for Spring 2008 with a theme of different textured and colored stripes. The first season offered 17 jacket styles in three different cotton and rayon fabrications. Nelson is now shipping to Henri Bendel and Neiman Marcus.
For Fall 2008, Baghdassarian expands on the previous season’s biker jackets and military-jacket styles in new fabrications. In addition to a theme of contrasting stripe colors, the designer plans to screen-print stripes onto the jackets.
“I wanted to specifically focus on these jackets to go with denim. I thought the world is saturated with these baby-doll tunics. How much of it can you buy and wear?” Baghdassarian said.
Wholesale price points range from $83 to $169. For more information, contact Stacey Rhoads Sales in suite 800 of The New Mart at (213) 891-1963. —Rhea Cortado
