Eva Varro's in the Swim With Retailers
Los Angeles designer Eva Varro of Eva Varro California Style started her career almost 20 years ago, styling swimwear in Budapest, Hungary. Though it’s been many years since she has picked up a swimsuit, the amphibious garments still provide inspiration for her current collections of daywear and eveningwear.
Most of her pieces feature vivid prints, constructed from stretch fabrics and borrow tight stitching techniques seen in swimwear, offering an almost seamless fit. The result is a garment that looks and feels good, retailers said. Examples include a mock-neck tiger-print dress showcased at Bloomingdale’s and an asymmetrical boot-length skirt, which was a customer favorite at HSN.
“You can tie these dresses in knots and then throw ’em in a suitcase,” said Lynn Girard, Varro’s West Coast rep, based in the California Market Center in Los Angeles.
The utility factor and fashion element have propelled Varro’s 6-year-old line to become much sought after in the contemporary and updated misses categories, according to Girard. Wholesale price points range from $35 to $85, and everything is made in the United States. The line has been performing strongly at majors as well as at specialty boutiques across the country, according to Girard, who said some of her accounts in Texas have placed reorders within one day of initial shipments.
“It’s very flattering and very easy to pack,” said Donna Steinback, owner of the Donna Marsh boutique in La Jolla, Calif., which featured some of Varro’s dresses in a recent fashion show. Added Esther Choi, owner of the Selvaggio boutique in Fashion Island, located in Newport Beach, Calif.: “It’s flexible. The fit and quality are great. It’s easy to sell, and we carry a lot of it for that reason.”
Varro gets lots of positive feedback, as well. “The women tell me they get compliments from their husbands for the first time in years,” the designer said. “That makes us feel good.”
Varro’s focus on fit probably originates from her days working as a seamstress on bathing suits in Hungary.
“She finishes everything like swimwear,” Girard explained. “She’s very much into working the fabric, and she knows how to incorporate details like grommets and other touches.”
Varro further elaborated that she uses a modified open stitch to create a tight, almost invisible seam. “It’s not entirely unique,” she said. “I’ve seen it done in Italy on certain lingerie.”
The line is produced in-house in a 1,700-square-foot studio in Burbank, Calif. Next month, Varro and her crew are moving into a larger facility on a 21,000-square-foot lot in Vernon, Calif., to accommodate growing operations, which include design, cut-and-sew and warehousing.
The vertically oriented business reflects the configuration of the many smaller European design houses that Varro was bred on, said Varro’s husband, company co-owner Calin Senciac, who formerly managed restaurants in Budapest.
“We can control everything much better this way,” Varro said. “Why do it in China, where it takes at least three months, when we can do it here in about one week?”
By manufacturing locally, Varro can also tweak designs with customers, who include a growing list of celebrities.
The line has attracted news personalities—probably for its professional yet sexy appeal, Varro said. Fox News has dressed about 20 of its anchors across the country in Varro’s creations. “Entertainment Tonight” host Mary Hart and “Good Day, L.A.” host Dorothy Lucey also wear Varro dresses, as did Jane Seymour on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Varro and Senciac have come a long way since emerging from an Eastern Bloc country that was part of the collapse of the former Soviet sphere of influence. Varro arrived in the United States speaking little English and with a somewhat obscure reacute;sumeacute; that lacked the names of big European design houses. Unable to land a job with a California-based company, she set out on her own with a couple of sewing machines at home.
Now that they’ve achieved success, Varro and Senciac remain humble about growing their company, intending to stay small for the time being.
“At one point last year, we were maxed out. We weren’t prepared to grow that fast,” Senciac said. “We even had to postpone some orders.”
Varro said she does not want to be a one-hit wonder.
“I am really satisfied, very happy not wanting to get to the top right away,” Varro emphasized. “It’s very important to keep everything in balance. It’s not just about the design and great ideas. It’s about business, the costs and the money.”
For more information, e-mail lgshowroom@sbcglobal.net.—Robert McAllister
