Matty M and Willow & Clay Showroom
The New Mart
Suite 203
(213) 892-1188
lashowroominfo@completeclothing.com
For Complete Clothing Co., parent company of the Matty M and Willow & Clay brands, contemporary fashions paved the way to growth.
Since it shifted focus to contemporary clothing, the onetime juniors company has opened a bigger showroom and is scheduled to open its first branded boutique.
The Vernon, Calif.–based company was founded as a juniors manufacturer in 1998 and found success with juniors line Zinc. It introduced contemporary line Matty M in 2007, but the company chose to get out of the juniors business entirely in 2008. Complete Clothing President John Meyer said that the market’s margins were declining too much.
Changing course is tough during any economy. But Complete Clothing folded Zinc in 2009 at the beginning of The Great Recession, and it introduced Willow & Clay. It’s a contemporary brand with bohemian edges and offers maxi skirts and other silhouettes with crochet and lace fabrics. Wholesale price points range from $18 to $38 for the contemporary label, made for women ages 18 to 34, Meyer said.
Since then, Willow & Clay was picked up by major retailers Nordstrom, Belk, Von Maur and Macy’s and specialty retailers Hot Mama of Edina, Minn.; South Moon Under of Berlin, Md.; and M.Fredric, headquartered in the Los Angeles area. The line sold well despite the recession. “The right fashion always will sell,” Meyer said. Last month, the company moved from the California Market Center to a bigger showroom at The New Mart. The 1,500-square-foot gallery-style showroom will carry both Willow & Clay along with Matty M.
Complete Clothing also is scouting locations in the Santa Monica, Calif., area to open its first boutique, which will be named Willow & Clay. The store is scheduled to open in 2013, and it also will sell Matty M, which is made for women ages 24 and up. Matty M offers printed silk tops and embellished knit tops as well as novelty sweaters and jackets. Its core wholesale price points range from $28 to $48. Silk garments wholesale for $58.—Andrew Asch
